Volume 01 – Chapter 08

Chapter 8: The Saint Who was Strangely Making Herself at Home

 

Time passed after the visit by Viscount Givenne’s knights, and the season changed to winter.

The fields were all covered in pure white snow.

Winter was usually harsh on countryside villages, but due to Ren hunting monsters every day, the winter preparations of his village were more than sufficient. They could stock up on a large amount of firewood and food this time.

“Ren-dono, today’s hunt yielded a great result again, didn’t it?”

“Yes. I used to think winter would make it hard to move around, but it was nothing once I got used to it,” replied Ren, looking at the early afternoon sun.

A dozen Little Boars were piled up next to the bridge near him, indicating how well the day’s hunt had gone.

(Nowadays, I feel like my sword skills have gone up as well.)

The reason for that was he had been hunting monsters without relying on Nature Magic (low).

Ever since the knights were stationed in the village, they always tagged along whenever he went out to hunt. That’s why he had to fight while hiding his Summon Magic Sword skill, resulting in him getting better at handling swords.

(I think there’s no actual need to hide it anymore, but revealing it after all this time is a bit……)

Although it was a bit late to think that, there were no problems if he didn’t reveal it as well, so he decided to keep it that way for the time being.

“At any rate, Ren-dono,” said one of the knights out of the blue. “I think it would be better for you to go to the imperial capital.”

“Oh, why do you think that?”

“There is no doubt that you will accomplish great things in the future. So maybe you could become a knight who is renowned throughout the capital.”

“That’s right,” said another knight. “……We can’t say this in front of others, but rather than the heirs of the seven great noble houses, we think you’re the reincarnation of one of the seven heroes.”

Ren felt a little awkward hearing that. Although he was happy about receiving compliments, having two adults praise him so openly was embarrassing.

“I have no intention of leaving this village. After all, I am the successor of the Ashton family.”

It was not his first time being praised like this, and this time as well, he replied the same way as he did all those times.

“Hmm…… That’s really regrettable……”

“Stop it. You’ll put him in a spot if you say that.”

“Ah…… That’s true.”

The three of them started heading back home, talking along the way. The path was difficult to walk on now that it was covered in snow. All they could hear was the sound of snow crunching each time they took a slow step forward.

Together with the silent snowfall, the village was enveloped in the tranquility that was not present in summer.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Ren’s house was as old as ever. Or rather, the roof was creaking due to the piled-up snow.

(I wonder if our house would survive this winter.)

After defeating the Thief Wolfen, Ren’s family had received ample funds, so renovations were planned once spring arrived.

“I have returned.”

Ren opened the door leading to the kitchen and called out to Mireille, who was supposed to be waiting inside as usual on the dirt floor. However, she wasn’t there today.

“Oh, welcome back. If you’re looking for Mrs. Mireille, she’s at Mrs. Grandma Rigg’s residence.”

Instead of his mother, Ren saw a bored-looking Liscia sitting on a chair near the table, resting her chin in her hands. Her reply was so natural that Ren accepted it without saying a thing.

“Is that so? No wonder I didn’t see her today.”

“Why don’t you go get yourself washed up first? I’ve brought a magic tool with me this time, so I think it’ll be quite useful.”

“That sounds interesting, so I’ll take you up on your offer if you’ll excuse me,” he said and walked past Liscia to leave the kitchen.

 

Ren followed his usual path to the dressing room and noticed something different.

“Woah. Isn’t this a dryer?”

Looking at the magic tool placed in front of the not-so-clear mirror, he was reminded of something from his past life. Since he usually used a towel to wipe his hair and let it dry in front of the fireplace, seeing a dryer felt like a sudden jump to modernity.

Feeling excited, he quickly undressed and stepped into the bath. There, he found a shower that didn’t exist until today. He wondered where it was drawing the hot water from. On looking closely, he realized that it was connected to a large crystal ball the size of a person’s head attached to the wall. It seemed like the shower also used a magic tool to generate water.

When he turned something that looked like a faucet, hot water soon started pouring from above.

“……Hmm?” He let out a relaxed voice and crossed his arms, recalling that magic tools also worked on mana stones. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he noticed the discomfort. 

“────Wait a second, just why?!”

He held his head in his arms and wondered why he hadn’t noticed it until now. However, he had an excuse for that. He couldn’t have imagined that the saint he thought he wouldn’t meet for a long time would visit again this quickly.

 

Ren quickly left the bath, roughly dried his wet hair with a towel, changed his clothes, and hurriedly ran through the house.

He was headed toward the kitchen where he saw Liscia earlier for some reason.

“W-Why?!” He opened the door in a rush and shouted without any reservation.

Upon seeing him in a frantic state, Liscia replied with her eyebrows raised, “What’s wrong with you? Why did you suddenly shout like that? My ears hurt!”

She covered her ears and pouted angrily.

“Like I said, why are you in the kitchen?!”

“I came here, so that’s why!”

“I know that as well! What I mean to ask is why are you in this village when you’re supposed to be back in Claussell?!”

Liscia, who was surprised by Ren’s sudden shout at first, gradually calmed down.

“There’s only one reason for that,” she replied with a somewhat triumphant smile, looking different from before. “You weren’t coming to Claussell, so I decided to come here myself.”

So she still hadn’t given up on that, realized Ren as he stared at her dumbfounded.

(Come to think of it.)

He recalled the passionate letter that he thought was written by the girl in front of him. It was still in the accessory box back in his room, but he felt that it would be better if he didn’t bring it up.

(Yeah. I should just forget about it.)

Let sleeping dogs lie. That phrase crossed his mind.

“My lady, I had heard that you were quite busy……”

“Fufu, don’t worry. I’ve taken care of all my arrangements.”

“────All of it, you say?”

“Yes, all of it,” she replied. “That includes both my studies and the work I had to finish before winter finished. I came to this village only after taking care of it all.”

In short, she didn’t leave a single flaw. Her ability to take action was impressive.

“……What excuse did you give the Lord?”

“I told him that after what Viscount Givenne did, the Claussell house also needed to be more proactive. Don’t you think if the feudal lord’s daughter……on top of it, the saint, came to this village herself, others would think twice before doing anything rash?”

Her suggestion made sense, so the Baron must have had no choice but to agree.

“In addition────I’m really sorry for what happened,” she said in an unusually dejected tone and sighed. “It’s because we didn’t have more power.”

It seemed like she had some idea regarding the matter with Viscount Givenne.

Ren, who had calmed down from his previous agitation, took a seat in front of her and spoke after regulating his breathing. “The Claussell house didn’t directly protest to Viscount Givenne?”

“We couldn’t. Nobles have no choice but to rely on high-ranking nobles that they have friendly relations with or are their superiors to protest against similarly high-ranking nobles. In our case, that would mean a noble from the Neutral faction with at least the rank of a count.”

“Then────”

“……Of course, we sent a request for that,” she replied. “However, the influence of the Neutral faction is incomparable to the other two.”

If a high-ranking noble tried to protest, then there was a chance that a noble with an even higher rank from the opposing faction would interfere. There were plenty of nobles who wished to avoid such troubles.

“Does that mean the high-ranking nobles from the Neutral faction are just observing the situation for now?” 

“Yes, that’s right. Haaah…… They all are really, no…… Although they all belong to the same country, look at what the current situation is just because of factions and court ranks……” said Liscia, without even trying to hide her irritation from Ren.

“By the way, there is something I was wondering about.”

“What is it?”

“Although the Claussell family belongs to a different faction and has a lower court rank, shouldn’t it have more influence because you—the saint—are a part of that family?”

“What a coincidence. I also had a time when I used to think that until recently.” However, her words implied that it wasn’t going to happen. She deeply sighed once again and said, “There have been many people who were called ‘saints’ in the past. However, unlike the Seven Heroes, they didn’t accomplish anything big, did they? ……Although the saints are said to have been blessed by the chief god Erfen, even they didn’t defeat the demon lord.”

Ren understood what she was trying to say. Originally, saints were beings who were blessed by the chief god Erfen and were a target of reverence. However, in the Leomel empire, there existed people who were even more revered.

Those were the Seven Heroes──individuals with absolute lineage.

Moreover, even the Imperial faction could be traced back to the Lion King, the founder of the empire. That unparalleled being had the same amount of influence as the Seven Heroes.

Therefore, a saint couldn’t be compared to them.

“────Oh, that’s right. Tell me what you plan on doing?” she asked while leaning forward on the table. Her jewel-like eyes stared intently at Ren’s face. “Will you accept the Viscount’s offer or not?”

Ren, who had been wondering what she was going to ask, answered calmly. “I won’t accept it. As I told you before as well, I have no intention of leaving this village.”

“Are you sure? I’ll drag you all the way to Claussell if you’re lying, you know?”

That could really happen if it was her. Ren made a wry smile and said, “I’m not going,” and escaped from Liscia’s increasing pressure.

“Hey, what did you think of the bath?”

“It was exceptional. If I hadn’t remembered about you midway, I think I would’ve enjoyed it for an hour more.”

“Then, do you want to keep it?”

“While I do think it will be helpful……it must have been expensive.”

“There is no need to worry about the money. That magic tool was an old one that had stopped working. I just had it repaired with my allowance, so there’s no need to hold back.”

“Yikes……”

“Hey! What’s with that reaction?”

“I mean……wouldn’t you ask me to come to Claussell in exchange?” replied Ren, keeping that letter he had picked up in mind.

He seemed to have hit the mark, as Liscia let out an “ugh”. However, she soon feigned calmness, and said, “Even I won’t go that far. All I want is for you to have a match with me when I am in this village.”

“Does that mean you would continue to come here?”

“Can I not?”

(Well…)

The only problem was that Ren had no right to stop her.

“I don’t think that the Baron would allow you to come here so many times.”

“He has allowed me twice already. So I think the third, the fourth, or even the tenth time won’t make a difference.”

Ren was amazed at her absurd logic. After being speechless for a few seconds, he cleared his throat and forced a smile. “If the Baron has no problems with it, I have nothing to say.”

It was more like he couldn’t refuse her.

“Fufu, I’m glad,” she replied with a lovely smile of her own.

……Although it was better than being kidnapped and taken to Claussell, it didn’t change the fact that Ren still found it a pain.

(I really want to lose on purpose.)

He couldn’t help but think that way.

“I think you know this already, but I won’t let you off the hook so easily if you lose on purpose.”

“That is out of the question. I won’t do anything insolent towards you, My lady.”

“Hmm…… You say that, but you looked like you were up to no good.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Silence fell between them, and only the dry sound of the firewood crackling echoed through the kitchen.

“Oh, that’s right. Now that you’re home as well, let’s go see your father.”

“Eh? Do you need something from him?”

“I’ll use my Divine magic to accelerate his healing…… I did that the last time I came here as well, didn’t you know?”

I’m sorry but I didn’t know that.

Ren bowed his head and expressed his gratitude to Liscia.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

When the sun fully set, Ren had a match with Liscia—unwillingly, as a matter of course.

Liscia had grown even more in the past two months, but the match still ended in Ren’s overwhelming victory.

Although she was really frustrated at that outcome and said, “We’ll have a match again tomorrow again!”, her figure was admirable.

 

When Liscia went to take a bath, Weiss walked up to Ren who was in the kitchen.

“My lord is really thankful to you. And of course, I am as well,” he said. “So what do you say, boy? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“But I’ve already received the reward from the Baron……”

“No, what I mean is something from me personally.”

Nothing came to Ren’s mind even after hearing Weiss’s response.

(I can’t really ask him for money, can I?)

He felt that it would be a wrong move to show his side as a poverty-stricken knight to Weiss.

“Hmm…I can teach you how to make camps. What do you say?”

That sudden proposal caught Ren by surprise.

“There will be no harm in learning that. Or rather, it will come in handy if you ever encounter an unexpected situation and need to spend a night in the forest.”

(He is right.)

Ren, who understood the necessity of it, responded quickly. “Yes. Please teach me,” he said and deeply bowed.

Seeing that, Weiss said, “Don’t bow your head. This is my way of showing gratitude,” and made Ren lift his head.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Ren and Weiss left the house around midnight, and proceeded deeper into the forest, even beyond the Blade Monolith. Watching Weiss’s figure as he walked so gallantly on the harsh snowy road and kept slaughtering the Little Boars that appeared suddenly without even glancing at them, Ren was left speechless.

 

After a while, Weiss stopped in front of a large rock on the ground and beckoned Ren over to its shadow. He sat on the ground and invited Ren to do the same. “First, we need to prepare a fire,” he said.

According to him, there were multiple ways to light a fire, and the knights mainly used a magic tool for that. But he also told him to use flint in case a magic tool wasn’t available, or as a last resort, to rub wood in order to create fire.

 

 

“However, if the wood is damp, you won’t be able to use it to create fire. That’s why you need to make sure to prepare yourself beforehand so that you don’t fall into such a situation,” he said and handed Ren a short sword in a leather sheath. “This is a present from me. It has a special mineral embedded in the pommel, and the leather sheath also has a similar thing on it. You can produce sparks like a flint if you strike them against each other,” he explained.

“Can I really have this? It looks expensive.”

“Not at all. In Claussell, it’s an item you can buy with as little as 10,000 G—something a commoner can earn with their daily wages.”

Even so, it wouldn’t be cheap, thought Ren. However, he decided to accept it and drew the short sword on Weiss’s urging.

Meanwhile, Weiss took out a piece of firewood from his chest pocket and placed it on the ground. “I borrowed this from your house for this training session,” he said. “Now, let me demonstrate how to use it first, and then you can try it as well.”

He took the short sword from Ren and struck it against the sheath with familiar hands. Seeing sparks fly so easily, Ren let out a voice of surprise.

Weiss made a slight smile seeing him and rummaged through his chest pocket once again. He took out a bundle of straw and used the short sword on it. After a few attempts, a faint fire lit up on the straw.

When Weiss finished demonstrating, Ren tried doing it himself. After a few failed attempts, he managed to create sparks and used them to light a fire. For a while, both he and Weiss rested by its warmth.

“Come to think of it, why did we leave just before midnight?” asked Ren. “We had finished our preparations a lot earlier, so was there a reason to leave so late?”

“Hmm…… That’s because I didn’t want My lady to find out about this training session.”

“A-Ah…… I see……” said Ren with a wry smile and shrugged.

 

Ren woke up before sunrise the next morning. Despite having only half of his usual sleep, surprisingly, his eyes were clear, and he didn’t feel sleepy at all by the time they were on their way home walking on the path between the fields.

“We returned quite early, didn’t we?”

“Yes. I think My lady must still be asleep. I’ll go check up on the horses, so you head back first.”

The two of them made their way back to Ren’s home chatting along the way. Ren separated from Weiss when they arrived at their destination and put his hand on the doorknob, but then────

“Oh, welcome back.”

He found Liscia greeting him with a beautiful and cheerful voice, and she had a brilliant smile on her face. However, despite her smile, Ren couldn’t help but feel indescribable pressure.

“Wasn’t it cold out at night? I don’t think there was a reason for you two to leave so late.”

“Well, you see, that was……”

Ren made a wry smile and scratched his cheek, trying to find a way out of that question.

“Geez…… Even I wouldn’t do something unreasonable like asking you to bring me along to the forest in the middle of the night. I was just……a little annoyed that you two kept it a secret from me……” she said. “And yeah, forget about our morning match.” 

Ren was surprised when he heard that and thought that she was angry. But it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

“You’ve just returned, so there is no doubt you must be tired.”

“N-Not at all! I don’t mind if it’s for a short────”

“It’s fine. Overexerting yourself would just harm your body, don’t you think so?”

Ren faltered at her sudden display of consideration. However, judging from her expression, she didn’t seem to be acting, and her words were undoubtedly sincere.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Even if I win the match when you’re tired, it would not make me happy at all.”

Thinking that this competitive spirit was also typical of her, Ren made a slight smile.

 

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