Chapter 14
Translator: True Detective
[The Saintess Awakens - 04]
The Frendisiv family.
Their power as nobles is not particularly strong.
If I had to say, it's lower-middle class.
Compared to commoners, they are naturally living much better, but as a family characterized by humility, to put it nicely, they have no greed to climb higher, and to put it poorly, they completely lack ambition. It wasn't exactly a characteristic of the family, but the territory governed by the Frendisiv family was quite well-known as a wheat production area.
Everything else is below average, but they receive somewhat decent treatment because they are a wheat production area.
Then what is the power as a noble I mentioned earlier?
Literally, it's 'martial power.'
Strength passed down through blood.
Before the birth of the Saintess, Anastasia Frendisiv, now Anastasia Lacroix, there was almost no one strong in the martial sense. Furthermore, even though they had wheat fields, it wasn't like they were only in the Frendisiv family's territory, so it seemed they were treated as roughly average nobles.
Say what you will, it's a fantasy world.
It was a fact that those with power found it easier to rule.
If it were me, I think I would have put a bit more weight behind such a family.
I mean, it's a wheat field.
Because it was an important resource in this country where bread is the staple food. If the wheat fields had been a bit larger, they definitely might have received better treatment.
Well, from what I hear, the current Frendisiv family seems satisfied with their current treatment.
In both a good and bad sense, they seemed unpretentious in a way unbecoming of nobles.
"Hey, Ed."
"Yes."
A mana car powered by mana.
It made my head spin that there was a 'car' despite the medieval fantasy-like atmosphere.
Modern items appear as if it's nothing.
The bathrooms are also modern.
Because of this, I end up suspecting if this isn't a game or a comic like the isekai reincarnation stories my friend liked.
Usually, in these cases, people often know about the work, so why do I know absolutely nothing?
"Where is your hometown?"
"It is the Valtus territory in the East. Since I was from a branch family, not the main house, I don't recall living such a noble-like life."
Starting from my father, he used to say, 'Money brings in money, and greed brings in greed,' and he didn't really like useless extravagance. He naturally understood that 'bluffing' was necessary for nobles, but he was very sparing with the money spent on that bluffing.
And after the main house caused trouble, eventually got caught, and was completely dealt with, my father naturally succeeded the main house.
It was eventful, but my father did his job properly, and since I played an active role in the war against monsters to the point of earning the title of hero, the status of the Valtus family improved, although not as much as in the past.
Of course, among the nobles who just sit at desks handling paperwork, there were still many who looked unfavorably upon me for building honor in war and sarcastically called me 'Bloodstained Valtus'.
Because a bad impression, once stuck, doesn't fall off easily, and not only that, there are quite a few people who don't want it to fall off.
"A noble-like life……. It sounds like something incredibly annoying."
"You are not wrong. Why do you suddenly ask such a thing?" "Just, I was thinking a bit about the feelings of someone returning to their hometown. I wondered what it feels like for a normal person returning to their hometown." "Usually, a feeling of longing would come first. It seems there is a kind of homesickness where you miss your hometown after living far away from it for a long time." "Is that an illness?" "Should I call it an illness of the heart?" "What is that."
"Because an illness doesn't necessarily only apply to the physical body. Among the books you read before, there were people who fell into sadness, couldn't make proper judgments, and became depressed or lethargic, right? In a certain sense, that means they are suffering from an illness of the heart."
"……." The Saintess fell silent, gazing at the scenery outside for a moment.
'Has she calmed down compared to when we first met? ……But honestly speaking, I don't know how she'll react when she meets her family who doesn't look favorably upon her.' The thought even occurred to me that everything I had taught her so far might blow up. In the worst case. A rampage.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" "Because I think I know what you're worried about. There haven't been many times I could read your thoughts by looking at your face until now, but today I can see them well. It's quite an amusing feeling." "……Is that so?"
The Saintess poured warm water into her teacup and spoke.
"You don't have to worry, I won't do anything. I already knew that those people don't like me, and I'm only going because I personally have something to say. It might be a regrettable story for the Pope, but I don't think I'll be able to become family with those people."
"The Pope would probably say that you are already family."
"I've only read novels or books and seen their stories, but……. Among them, there were books like memoirs based on true stories. Just because you're family connected by blood, it doesn't necessarily mean there's a bond, does it." "That is true. ……So what is it you have to say? Could you tell me?" "No, because it's not something to say to you." "Is that so?" It didn't seem like she would answer even if I forcibly pried. It can't be helped, so should I give up?
Because whether I like it or not, I felt like I would find out once we got there anyway.
"Look, it's a wheat field."
"Seeing it with the sunset, it has quite an elegant atmosphere."
"In the past, looking at the wheat moving in the wind like that, I used to think, 'The wheat is dancing.' Looking at it now, it's a bit awkward to call it a dance, though."
To the eyes of the Saintess, who was even younger than she is now, the wheat fluttering in the wind must have looked that way.
"By the way, I didn't expect to be permitted to go out with such a small number of personnel. As expected, Ed, are you perhaps more competent than I thought? Or do you have name value?"
"I believe I explained this before, but it is because I am someone who played quite an active role on the battlefield. When it comes to that aspect, I am quite famous."
"About killing? It's funny, to think such a person is teaching me not to kill and not to attack."
"Does it sound like a contradiction?"
"No, it's just a little funny."
On the battlefield, the value of life is equally nonexistent for everyone.
There are days when you don't know who died first.
There are days when you receive the keepsakes of a comrade who was right next to you, and days when you suddenly become close with a comrade you saw for the first time that day. Even a person who survived well like an expert until yesterday could suddenly die tomorrow.
"How was your farewell with your family?"
"I don't remember. In the first place, when I left, I don't think they were there."
Even though their child was leaving as a Saintess, they didn't even come out?
Honestly speaking, it didn't look very good, but as someone who doesn't know what kind of emotional rift exists between them, it was delicate to give any evaluation.
"We will arrive soon."
"Right, since I came all the way wearing this annoying dress, I hope to spend some meaningful time."
"When going outside, please try to dress appropriately. You saw how people around screamed when you came out half-naked last time, didn't you."
"I covered all the important parts, though."
"Covering only those parts is not the end of it."
Treating her half like a wild child, I felt like I had somehow figured out how to handle her better.
Behind the civilized appearance is a wild child.
Behind the beautiful and pure-looking appearance is a mind-numbing lack of empathy.
She was truly someone who seemed to have all the typical settings of a villain in a game or something. If this world really were some game or comic, it was at a level where I suspected if this young girl wouldn't become a boss-level character later on.
"Please do not just chew on sugar cubes."
"I'll brush my teeth properly."
"That is not the problem, but……. Sigh, fine. We have arrived now." The mana car stopped, and the door slowly opened.
There were a few attendants around.
Simply put, they were the people who would assist the Saintess. Like driving or running small errands. Even though they could get paid more, usually many people wouldn't take on the Saintess's assistance no matter how much you multiplied the pay, but it seemed there were a few applicants this time.
I figured the biggest reason was that, unlike in the past, there was at least no worry of dying.
Besides, they get paid more, too.
Having a lot of money isn't necessarily an essential element of happiness in living, but it could satisfy the majority of happiness elements, after all.
"Welcome, Anastasia Lacroix."
A butler who looked somewhat aged greeted us politely.
Giving off a strong impression of having worked there for quite a long time, it was highly likely he had been with this family since before the Saintess was born. In other words, even if the Saintess didn't remember him, he would be a face she had met before.
When I briefly looked at the Saintess's face, as expected, it was a face that said, 'Who was this again.'
"Thank you for visiting like this. The Master and the family are waiting inside."
"Are they really waiting? That's quite something, seeing as they never once came to visit the Cathedral?"
"It seems the timing was not right."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Saintess……." "Ugh."
When I spoke softly, the Saintess frowned.
"I got it, that's enough, isn't it. Guide us quickly. Because I have something to say to that family, too."
"Understood."
The butler suffers a lot, too.
Following the butler like that, the Saintess and I entered the mansion.
Even if it was just a little bit.
I felt tense.