The Saint's Rain
“Hmm.”
I thought it over thoroughly, but I still couldn’t figure out what Ash had been trying to say.
I really needed Rai. That greedy little spirit would give me an objective—albeit annoying—take on the matter. He might notice something I’d missed.
Unfortunately, I had him sealed away at the moment.
Grumbling, I glared at the back of Ash’s head for leaving me so curious. Then it hit me like lightning.
I got it!
“You want me to become your guardian!”
As expected, my intuition was lightning-fast. How brilliant of me. Once the truth dawned, my chest felt instantly lighter.
My reasoning was flawless.
Ash wanted my help so he could become crown prince. Normally guardians never learned their true role until the very end, but since I already knew about the Path of the Trial and his identity, he had no choice but to ask me directly.
“Oh, you adorable thing.”
It was no small favor, of course. Asking the continent’s famous Saint for such a thing couldn’t be easy.
The Crowell family might react unpredictably, and I was, as usual, inclined toward laziness. By his own admission, the odds of refusal were high.
Still, I did owe Ash a small debt, and indebting the imperial prince would smooth my future path considerably. It wasn’t a bad deal at all.
If he became emperor, my investment would pay off handsomely. I did have a hobby of attaching myself to powerful people, after all.
Maybe I should give it serious consideration.
“You’ve got an eye for talent, I’ll give you that. I am pretty impressive.”
In a good mood, I clasped my hands behind my back and strolled lightly down the path.
Lalala. Now, when would he actually ask?
***
The men had gathered at the well to wash up.
They wrung out sweat-soaked clothes with bulging forearms, drew water with the pulley and poured it over their heads, and suddenly put on an impromptu shirtless show among themselves.
Muscles of every variety flexed in every direction, making the scene almost savage.
Being a virtuous lady, I made no attempt to look away and instead examined each raw display of muscle in turn.
The most muscular was Chad, as expected from his size. Enk had the most aesthetically pleasing physique—well-proportioned muscle paired with a tall frame. His build was the closest to Ash’s.
Even Gail, who looked smaller among the larger men, surprisingly possessed solid, compact muscle.
Water cascading over all that muscle was… oddly captivating.
Muscles really were a delight to look at. Ah, this was purely aesthetic appreciation, of course. No ulterior motives whatsoever.
Because muscles were simply wonderful.
A man’s body was a divine work of art… except for the one scrawny anchovy mixed in. That was Lox. He instantly killed my mood.
“Excuse me, miss who looks like a passing uncle… would you mind removing that filthy gaze?”
“Hah, nothing worth looking at anyway.”
“Hey! That’s going too far!”
I had standards, thank you very much!
I wasn’t interested in bodies that fluttered like paper. Speaking of which, why wasn’t Ash taking his shirt off?
I glanced at Ash, who stood apart without washing, and quickly understood why.
Despite doing the same labor as everyone else, he showed no sign of sweat and looked as fresh as if he’d just woken up.
The complete opposite of Lox, who looked half-dead.
Even Chad and Enk, both in excellent shape, were panting, so it was obvious Ash’s stamina far surpassed the rest of the group.
I suddenly wondered—exactly how strong was Ash?
He couldn’t match someone like Robenin, but he was clearly at a considerable level. Good. I should use him as a sparring partner sometime. When I felt like it, of course.
“Hey, still acting all carefree by yourself?”
“Jealous?”
Having finished washing, Chad approached while flexing his pectoral muscles.
The way my eyes kept drifting to them was probably just a woman’s natural instinct. Maybe because his chest was bigger than mine.
“Instead of slacking off, how about you earn your keep? You started all this work and then left everyone else to do it.”
“What? Who are you to order me around?”
“Because you ate the most but did the least work, you damn woman!”
How rude. Though technically correct.
“Misunderstanding. I wasn’t slacking. I did my morning exercise too. An essential daily training I can’t skip.”
“Exercise? Training? You?”
“Yeah. Breathing exercises.”
“……You’re going to be the greatest con artist alive……!”
Ahem. How satisfying.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“It was an insult! An insult, you professional self-deluder!”
“Being insulted by someone unpleasant just proves I’m living well. Hohoho!”
“Argh!”
Truly, the best way to start the day was by teasing someone.
Chad made excellent prey. While I was still smirking, Ash awkwardly inserted himself between us.
“That’s enough. Stop fighting and let’s go inside. We’re already running late, aren’t we?”
He gently placed a worn cloth over Chad’s shoulders like a towel, then gave his chest a light tap to cover those conspicuous muscles.
Hm? Why were they standing so close and whispering?
Why was Ash covering Chad’s chest?
Did he not want me to see?
Why?
Could it be……!
Ash! Chad!
“Jeanie?”
“Yes?”
“Why are your eyes so wide?”
Well, it was hard not to think that way. Now that I considered it, Ash always glanced over whenever I talked to Chad. Even now he was shielding Chad’s bare chest from my view and had actively stopped me from harming him before.
Plus, Chad tended to obey Ash’s every word without question.
They shared an extremely deep bond.
I was quick to notice these things!
This might not be a misunderstanding after all!
“Understood.”
“Ah, good?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but…… you’re absolutely wrong.”
This guy could be terrifyingly decisive sometimes.
***
When we entered the small common area connected to the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked bread assaulted my nose without mercy. Saliva pooled instantly in my mouth.
“Everyone, please eat. You must be starving.”
The table was laden with thick, hearty soup and fresh fruit. We all scrambled to sit without ceremony.
Chad had already stuffed two pieces of bread into his mouth.
“Thank you. I’m not sure we should keep accepting your hospitality like this.”
“Of course you should! It’s nothing special since I prepared it in a hurry, but please let me know if it’s not enough.”
“Not at all. This is more than enough.”
“We’re the ones who should be grateful. Originally my husband and I came to help Father with the work, but thanks to you, we had nothing left to do. I heard you finished nearly three weeks’ worth of repairs in no time.”
“We were simply repaying a debt.”
While Ash, the party’s moral compass, maintained his usual politeness, I decided to handle shamelessness. I ate enthusiastically despite having done nothing.
“We’re the ones in debt. When you leave, I’ll pack plenty of bread and jerky for you.”
“You don’t have to go that far……”
“My husband told me how incredible you all were. Carrying things that would normally need a cart with your bare hands. My goodness…… Adventurers really aren’t ordinary.”
Lil’s mother was so grateful she kept trying to give us even more. From what I overheard, I assumed Chad had been showing off his superhuman strength again.
Until I saw Ash scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
Wait, the one with super strength was Ash?
“Not only that, but you also fixed the waterwheel that’s been broken for a year because no one knew how to repair it.”
Apparently Lox had contributed as well.
When our eyes met, he puffed out his chest with obvious pride.
I wanted to smack him. The look on his face clearly said, “We’re this capable—what did you do?”
Lox, you bastard. You used to be my fan…… Who turned him into this? It definitely wasn’t me.
“Ahem. Something of that level is child’s play for me, the party’s intellectual.”
“Bullshit.”
“Please ignore the uneducated person over there. She’s a violent woman who solves everything with brute force. You could call her the golden-haired outlaw.”
Did he have a death wish?
If that was his wish, I was happy to grant it…… I seriously considered whether I could kill someone with the long loaf of bread in my hand.
It was quite a serious deliberation—until I heard Lil throwing a tantrum instead of eating.
“Grandpa! Did you hear me? Huh? You’ll make it, right? Right?”
“Lil, eat your meal first……”
“Hurry! Make me a wooden sword! A wooden sword! Big brother said you need one to become a swordsman! If you don’t promise, I won’t eat!”
“Goodness…… Where did this child get such nonsense?”
“Quick! Wooden sword! Wooden sword!”
For some reason, Lil was throwing an enormous fit, looking ready to lie down on the floor at any moment.
Watching her, I briefly felt like I was the delinquent causing problems while everyone else worked hard.
It was just a feeling, of course. I was an elegant and noble person.
“Mom and Dad said it’s too dangerous! But Grandpa won’t say that, right? Right?”
“I agree with them, Lil. Swords are too dangerous for a little girl.”
“No! Bad uncles are more dangerous! You always say strangers are dangerous and won’t let me go alone! So learning swordsmanship would be much safer!”
“……Well…… that is……”
While the old man floundered for a rebuttal, Ash looked at me with wavering eyes.
As if asking what he should do.
He wore a guilty expression, as though we were accomplices, but it wasn’t my problem. Still……
“I just remembered something I need to do.”
“Pardon? What could be so urgent during a meal?”
“There was a field that was about to fail because of the drought, wasn’t there? Where is it?”
“What are you planning to do?”
The farm’s owner—Lil’s grandfather—looked bewildered as I suddenly stood up from the table.
I did know how to repay hospitality. I might not have super strength, but I had something else.
“You gave us a place to sleep and fed us, so I’ll water the fields for you.”
“Water the fields…… you say……?”
“I won’t need a watering can or anything like that.”
The old man and his family all tilted their heads, clearly imagining the literal version.
“More accurately, I’ll make it rain.”
“How peculiar. It almost sounds like you’re claiming to command nature itself.”
“Exactly. I’m a Spirit Master of water, after all. Spirits are nature, and I command them. Which means I can command nature—albeit only a small part of it. I really am quite remarkable. Feel free to be impressed.”
I looked at Lox and puffed myself up even more than he had earlier.
He needed to remember exactly whose presence he’d been showing off in.
Showing off in front of the cocoon was ten years too early.
Wait, did that make me the cocoon?