Chapter 4. Flight and Service (7)

"Are the fries good?"

Bringing up the princess thing for no reason would only make the atmosphere heavier and more awkward, so I started with that instead.

"Huh?"

"What you're eating right now."

"Ah....... Yes, they're good."

Glaria answered and looked at her fingers.

When Ria took out a napkin and handed it to Glaria, Glaria said "Thank you" and took the napkin to wipe her fingers.

It was probably her first time seeing a napkin, but Glaria didn’t act too awkwardly about it. Her royal family had apparently been in contact with this world, so she might at least have seen napkins before. They were the kind of thing that instantly improved your quality of life once you had them, after all.

"The fried food they sell here is fried together with chicken."

"Chicken?"

At that question, Ria and I looked at each other again.

"Uh, I mean, a domesticated...... bird? It's domesticated, right? Are wild chickens like that too?"

"It's domesticated. Though wild chickens don't exactly fly around the sky."

"Ah, so it's livestock in this world. Meaning it was fried together with meat, so the smell might have seeped in."

Glaria, who had caught on quickly after listening to our conversation, fell into thought for a moment.

"To be honest, normally I wouldn't have touched it. I really hate the smell of meat."

She seemed to have realized a bit belatedly that what we were eating was fried meat. But she didn't pull back or anything.

Well, I can understand not knowing what a chicken is. We don't know what animals are like in other worlds either. Who knows. Maybe in that world, people ride reptile creatures that look like raptors instead of horses.

Having already seen a giant monkey that hunts and eats giant tigers, imagining that animals that already existed in this world might exist similarly in another world was far too easy.

"But......."

"When you're hungry, anything tastes good. I think I know what that feels like."

Ria answered like that and this time placed the pickled radish in front of her.

"What's this?"

"Pickled radish."

"Is this made from chicken too?"

"......No. It's just radish you eat with chicken—it's basically pickled radish."

"Hmm."

Glaria picked up a piece of pickled radish and examined it closely, then popped it into her mouth.

"Mm!"

And her eyes sparkled.

"It’s good! It’s strongly flavored, so it does feel like commoner food!"

I can't tell if she's tactful or not.

After picking up about two pieces of pickled radish with her hands and crunching away, Glaria finally noticed that both of us were using chopsticks.

"......Hm."

Looking a bit embarrassed, Glaria stopped eating.

I picked up a pair of chopsticks, split them, and handed them to Glaria. Since we'd ordered two whole chickens, they probably hadn't thought only two people would be eating, so there were plenty of extras.

Watching Glaria move the chopsticks a little awkwardly, we silently picked up chicken and ate too. It was good. It was good, but...... hmm, it really was a bit awkward.

"......Ah, right."

Glaria, who had been diligently picking up pickled radish, suddenly lifted her head and looked at me as she spoke.

"The person who healed me—was it you?"

"Well, yes."

I nodded and picked up a piece of chicken.

"You completely neutralized a poison whose identity we didn't even know, and you could even heal the wound on the back of the person who saved me without leaving a trace?"

"......Yes?"

"I see. So that's how it is."

Glaria carefully set down her chopsticks and rose from her seat.

Then she bowed her head toward me politely. She moved her hands and legs too—I'm not sure, but it seemed like a courteous pose that royalty from that world would make, or something like that.

"I only did what was natural."

When I answered nonchalantly, Ria turned her gaze toward me again.

"No, that's not true. Something no one else can do is that much more valuable. Someday, if I can return to the world I lived in, I will certainly repay you greatly."

"It's fine. It wasn't my own power."

At my answer, Glaria's face went blank for a moment.

Then, as if she'd realized something, she nodded and spoke.

"I see. So that's how it is. Is this the attitude of those who serve this world's God? I've seen it a few times in my own world as well. Though most clergy usually want some kind of reward......."

I shrugged and looked at Ria.

Ria, who had been quietly watching me, shrugged too.

And seeing us start eating chicken again in silence, Glaria looked somewhat flustered.

"D-don't tell me, is that power something completely ordinary in this world? A power anyone can use, and so you're this indifferent......."

An ordinary power?

I wasn’t sure, but in a sense, it did seem to be perceived that way.

I can reattach severed body parts. If the other person has even the slightest chance of survival left, I can probably save them without fail.

That power of mine is not ordinary.

But curing illnesses considered incurable or intractable—things that would have been absolutely impossible just a dozen or so years ago—was already within the realm of common sense in this world. So were curing terminal cancer that had spread throughout the body and healing injuries that would otherwise cause permanent disability.

People consider that kind of power to be natural. Those who believe in God themselves think it's natural for them to use that power, and those who receive help from that power also think it's natural.

"......."

What was I supposed to say about a world like that? Honestly, I didn’t know. In a world where such things already existed as if they were perfectly natural, why insist on creating mascots called Saintesses or Saints? Why create beings for others to worship? Why preselect and manage candidates for those roles?

I didn't study the Bible diligently, but I at least knew that the early Saints and Saintesses weren't like that. If a Saintess were chosen at this point, she wouldn't be someone who had sacrificed herself to save the world and its people—she'd just be a representative put forward by the Church.

The fact that this wasn't purely innocent intent had already come up in the novel.

So I didn't want to do it anymore.

......Well.

Worrying about it now won't produce an answer. What matters is how I move forward from here.

Leaving the princess to her various speculations beside me, I focused on eating chicken again.

Ria quietly watched me for a moment, then moved her chopsticks again.

*

Anyway, since a princess from another country was here, normally the priority would have been for her to make contact with government officials rather than me.

I went to see her this morning to check on her progress, and Glaria, perhaps well aware of her situation, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠greeted me politely again today as if I were a stranger.

Ria and I greeted her with proper courtesy too. Formal occasions like this are always a hassle.

And then there was the other Elf who hadn't appeared in the original work.

This one...... couldn't speak properly. It seemed she still hadn't fully escaped the trauma.

Glaria had received all kinds of training as a princess, and because she'd been nearly unconscious while I healed her, her trauma seemed somewhat more manageable. But the person who looked as though they'd taken dozens of arrows in the back protecting Glaria still seemed a little afraid of people.

This world itself must be terrifying to begin with. No matter how many villains were chasing her where she came from, wanting to return to the place you originally lived is human instinct.

There were many people who wanted to talk, so I first confirmed that Glaria's body was fine and then came outside with Ria.

Just like usual, we trained together in our spare time.

Ria's sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strikes were fierce every time I saw them. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed to be going easy on me considering I was a beginner, but she never did it half-heartedly.

Ria had been completely sincere when she said she'd train me.

And I was gradually starting to want to beat Ria.

At first I only thought there was no way I could win—but still, after losing to someone a few times, doesn't the desire to win inevitably arise?

Whether it was fortunate or not, Ria always swung her sword at me the same way. An atmosphere of "Try beating this first."

I somehow maneuvered the large shield and blocked her strikes in sequence. My body had gotten much quicker than before too.

Again and again, I watched Ria's sword move and memorized the sequence—

"......Oh."

For the first time, I succeeded in aiming the tip of the pink rubber gun at Ria's body.

"Well done."

Ria smiled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brightly at me as she said that. It was a smile completely different from the playful ones she'd shown so far—a smile filled with genuine praise.

"......Hah."

With the weather gradually warming and having worked hard in broad daylight, I plopped down onto the ground.

"Here."

Ria opened a 500ml water bottle and handed it over.

"Thanks."

I obediently took it from her and held it.

Ria plopped down beside me and opened her own water bottle.

"You know what? You might actually have some talent."

"......Really?"

"Well, not like a genius or a prodigy or anything."

Ria gulped down some water and looked at me.

"A person who can protect their own body is vastly different from someone who can't. No matter how far in the rear you are in a party, if you can just draw your gun and hit your opponent, you can at least save your own life."

"......."

Twitch.

I forcibly suppressed the slight twitching at the corner of my mouth.

"And......."

Ria hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"This is just my thought, but with your power, there will definitely be people who want to go to truly dangerous places."

"......."

That's probably true.

The Saintess was like that too.

At this point, not preparing myself at all would be incredibly stupid.