Chapter 15
Translator: True Detective
[The Saintess Awakens - 05]
"Welcome, Anastasia."
"Y-Yeah. Welcome back. Anastasia."
These two people are the current head of the Frendisiv family and his wife.
Franz Frendisiv and Emily Frendisiv.
I see.
The Saintess's appearance seemed to resemble her mother's a little more. I definitely got the feeling that her distinctive pure white hair and features were similar. However, their personalities seemed quite different. Franz on the father's side at least tried not to show his fluster, but Emily Frendisiv on the mother's side was openly showing her fluster.
It was understandable they would be surprised, considering it was a letter roughly sent out of courtesy like always, yet she actually came.
Franz at least tried to maintain his composure, but it didn't seem like he wasn't flustered.
"……." As the Saintess continued to stay silent, I approached her for a moment and whispered in her ear. "Saintess, please do not forget the promise you made before coming here." "I know." We agreed to observe basic etiquette, so doesn't she think not even greeting them is a bit much? She probably wouldn't; it was highly likely she was just perceiving it as 'Ed is making me do something annoying again~'. Even if she had high empathy, she definitely would have grown up as a mischievous child who stubbornly refused to listen to people.
"It has been a long time, Father. And Mother. I don't know how many years it's been since we last saw each other, but I'm glad to see you still look healthy." I wished she had shown a bit more courtesy, but considering the other party was family and, above all, coming from the Saintess, it could be considered a fairly polite greeting.
Franz and Emily also had surprised faces.
"U-Ahem. I see. I am glad to see you look healthy as well. Thank you for coming like this. So, this person is……."
Franz's gaze turned to me.
It had been half a year since I started staying by the Saintess's side, so they could have found out if they wanted to, but if they had no interest, they might not have known the fact that a person like me was by the Saintess's side. I changed my posture, gave a polite bow, and spoke.
"How do you do, Franz Frendisiv. And Emily Frendisiv. My name is 'Adrian Valtus'. Although I am lacking, I am the one in charge of the Saintess's education."
"Oh……." The Saintess looked at me.
I hoped she would look at me and recognize that this is how you greet people. There's no harm in showing courtesy, and the risks of not showing it are much greater. Furthermore, regardless of what they are, the other party was the head of the family that gave birth to the Saintess, so there was all the more need to show courtesy.
It means minimum formality.
"Wait, Adrian Valtus?"
Franz blankly stared at me and then seemed to chew over my name.
"A person from the Valtus family……. Are you, by any chance, that Adrian Valtus?" "I do not know who that Adrian Valtus is, but I am indeed the Adrian Valtus who participated in the monster war."
"O-Oh my." Emily covered her mouth and looked at me. The Saintess looked at me again. She had a face that seemed to say, 'You really are famous, aren't you?' The title of the youngest Holy Knight wasn't given for nothing. For reference, this didn't mean I was currently the youngest Holy Knight, but rather the youngest to acquire the qualifications of a Holy Knight.
After that, I participated in the war against monsters and survived on the battlefield for a long time. During that time, I defeated some strong monsters and did a lot of different things, so I later found out that my name had become quite famous. Because on the battlefield, there was no time to care about such rumors.
"A-Are you the Adrian Valtus who defeated the 'Battle Fiend'?"
"Battle Fiend?"
"There are monsters with names even among monsters. Monsters commonly called by their race name and monsters with names belong to different classes, and even a simple goblin, if it has a name, possesses strength equivalent to several hundred goblins."
When the Saintess looked at me and asked what that was, I answered in an explanatory tone.
"And the Battle Fiend, Armadin, the Demon of Combat, was a named monster with six arms. It is definitely recorded that I subjugated it, however."
It seemed the story that I caught it was famous, probably for propaganda effects, but it wasn't like I caught it alone; I caught it by joining forces with my comrades, so hearing the rumor that 'Adrian Valtus defeated the Battle Fiend, Armadin' made my conscience prick a little.
Right, looking at it favorably, it wasn't impossible to say I was the MVP, but it absolutely wasn't without the help of others.
It felt a bit awkward to correct them one by one, and everyone who participated in the battle at the time also called me a hero, so I didn't go around explicitly denying it. Since my comrades said that was fine with them, I thought it was fine, too.
If my comrades had said that they worked hard too, I would have gone around denying it with all my might, though.
"Oh my, to think it's the real Adrian Valtus."
"Ahem, my apologies. I never imagined such a famous person would be by her side."
"It is fine."
"Since there is still time before the party officially begins……. Let us guide you to your room."
"Yes, Master." The butler nodded and attempted to guide me and the Saintess.
It seems there was almost no family-like conversation.
Is this as expected.
The Saintess didn't seem to care much either, and sticking my nose too far into other people's family affairs wasn't a very good choice. Someone might say that because they are family, they should get along, but someone else might evaluate them as strangers who just happen to share blood.
To the Saintess, her family is probably only that level of connection.
"Ed."
"Yes."
"It's my younger sister's birthday, but don't you think they're preparing a bit too grandly? Is a birthday that valuable?"
"It will differ depending on the person, but the reason this birthday party is so grand is none other than because it is the occasion to decide the fiancé for the Saintess's biological younger sister, Ellyn Frendisiv."
"Fiancé?"
"As is customary for nobles, in exchange for being guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter and living an affluent life, their freedom is often somewhat restricted. Even though she is young, there are many people who desire the position of Ellyn's fiancé."
"……."
The Saintess tilted her head as if she couldn't understand. Eyes filled with the purest of pure inquiries, seeming to say, 'Why are there many people who desire such a position?', were looking at me. The butler of this family was walking in front of us, so I debated for a few seconds whether it was okay to talk about this, but the butler in front opened his mouth first.
"This is the Saintess's biological family home, where the Saintess was born. That alone holds value, and although it is not incredibly massive, there are wide wheat fields. It is surprisingly not a bad place for a marriage prospect." I don't know if it was out of consideration or what, but I didn't expect the butler's side to explain it first. "Hmm, so you mean because I am from this family, they are trying to get along with this family?"
"It is a bit of a vulgar story, but it can be seen that way. Of course, there will almost never be any incidents that bother you, Saintess. After all, the majority are people who want what is essentially the honor of being 'connected to the family that gave birth to the Saintess'." "It's annoying, and truly trivial."
"It is truly a heartbreaking statement, but it is not wrong. ……It is here. The actual party is tomorrow. Until then, you may freely use the inside of the mansion. However, if you need to go outside, please give us at least a word." "Understood."
"Then I will see you at mealtime. Please call for me anytime if you need anything."
Saying so, the butler stepped back, and the Saintess and I entered the room.
"It's nicer than I thought. Isn't it actually better than the Grand Cathedral?"
"Because the Grand Cathedral is humble in many ways. ……So, will it be alright if you don't go meet your younger sister?"
"I'll meet her at the party anyway, so doesn't it not matter? More than that, I want to hear about your war. I thought you weren't a normal person, but I never imagined you would be that famous. Since I only lived in the Grand Cathedral, I didn't know."
"I was just lucky enough to survive for a long time."
I actually almost died several times, and as a result, I was just lucky enough to survive.
Even in that fight against the Demon of Combat, Armadin, if I had been even slightly unlucky, it was highly likely I would have died right there. Honestly, I think I've gotten much stronger since then, but I still couldn't imagine myself fighting that demon 1-on-1 without any help from anyone and winning.
"I will tell you that story when we return to the Grand Cathedral. It is not exactly a story fit for a place like this. That is, on the premise that you are curious."
"Fine, it's a story of a place like a war where morals and ethics become meaningless, right? You'll need time to distinguish between what stories to tell me and what not to tell me. I'll forgive you."
"As an educator, I am very glad that you seem to be getting better at reading the room."
"Actually, you might just be raising me to be more of a nuisance."
"You will be a nuisance either way, so I do not think it will be much different."
"……." When I spoke naturally while brewing black tea, the Saintess looked at me with dissatisfaction. Her expression, so anxious to win even one word somehow, was truly childlike. Well, she actually was a child.
"Then, shall we talk about the present now? Could you tell me soon? What is it you have to say to your family?" "If it's you, you know, right?" "Haha, you seem to think I am some kind of mind reader. But I am not?" "……."
It's troubling when you look at me with a face that says, 'You weren't?'
Naturally dropping a sugar cube into the black tea I brewed for her, the Saintess spoke.
"Severing ties."
"……." "I came to say words of severing ties."
When I stayed silent at those words, the Saintess drank her black tea and smiled a smile unbefitting her age. "See, you did know after all, didn't you? You're not surprised at all."
I couldn't deny that it was one of the answers I had expected.