Whispers of the Saint
This is what they mean by one good deed leading to another. Finding that brooch had earned us lodging and meals, and now it had turned into rain keeping us here.
Still, being caught in Ash’s scheme left a bad taste in my mouth.
I’ve got this weird condition where doing a good deed makes my stomach twist uncomfortably.
“That’s right. If you travelers have any rumors from the capital, would you mind sharing them? That’s my little pleasure in life.”
“We’d be happy to! Let’s see… if it’s about Young Lord Pedri, this place is basically the source, so you probably already know. It’s the biggest topic these days.”
“Of course. I know all about it. I even caught a glimpse of the young lord passing through.”
“Really?”
“Could’ve been a trick of the light with all the red hair going around lately, but thinking I saw him still puts me in a good mood, like I’ve stumbled on some luck.”
The old man sure was optimistic.
In this world, rumors were everyone’s favorite pastime, filling the role of TV or radio. People got excited over them, leaned in to listen, laughed and cried because of them. They believed some and doubted others, and there were even those who spent their whole lives chasing the chance to become the subject of one.
“What kind of rumors do you like? There are so many… monster subjugations? Politics? Ruin exploration teams? Noble love affairs? Ah, the rumor that the Mercenary King is choosing an heir is pretty interesting too.”
“They all sound entertaining. The most recent one I heard was about some slave trader in Moran who vanished overnight after being turned into minced meat. Red Wing, was it? Apparently earned the wrath of the dark elves.”
“Pfft.”
“Puhaha….”
Two people spat out the soup they’d been drinking—Lox and Ash. Chad, determined not to waste food by spitting it out, ended up snorting some through his nose instead.
Disgusting.
“My personal favorite is still the tales of Saint Crowell. I’ve never heard such a moving story in all my life.”
“Cough, kuh.”
Ah, my nose kind of hurts…
“Just living in the same era as her makes my faith well up and gives meaning to doing good deeds, doesn’t it?”
Right now, the only ones in our group maintaining any composure were Gail and Enk, who had no idea what was going on.
Rai was screaming bloody murder from the stables.
Crunch, crunch went the rhythmic sound of metal being devoured, even though I really didn’t want to hear it while eating.