CH 45

It was the next day after the trouble at the Two-Horned Stag Inn.

After leaving the cheap inn, the three of us walked together down the main street of Hafen.

Stone buildings stood on either side of us, and a food market was bustling in the town square. Some cooks were purchasing ingredients, and some wives were bargaining for root vegetables besides them.

It made me realize that these activities, rooted in daily life, must have continued for a long time. I felt a sense of tightening as I basked in the morning’s energy.

Today, I was going to the Adventurer’s Guild to complete my registration. My goal was to get one healer to join us.

Before leaving, I forcefully shaved Claude’s stubble and ate a quick meal. Appearance is important after all. A man who was supposed to be a hero should not have a shabby beard.

“I was going to take care of that last night, but you look like a troublesome person walking around with those clothes on. It was beyond my expectations.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.”

I was reminded of yesterday’s quarrel.

“Are you really mad at me for pushing those elves on you? I’m getting the feeling you’re trying to get back at me.”

“No…… I was going to put you in the dungeon and push you to the brink of death at that time. However, as it turns out, Thor and Sheila have been helping me develop my territory. I’m not mad at you anymore.”

“Dungeons? The person who says he isn’t angry is usually the one who’s still angry… Oh well. Before we go to the Adventurer’s Guild, we’ll go to the Monastery of St. Latgrius.”

“Why a monastery?”

Sareha tilted his head.

It certainly raised questions. Claude didn’t seem like the type of person who would pray to God. If he had to choose between God and gold coins, he would prioritize the latter.

“Healing magic is under the jurisdiction of the Church of the Moon. They lend out healing magicians as part of their religious activities. They say that eradicating demons is a holy war or something. Adventurers must bow down to the monastery and ask them to lend us their best healers.”

“A monastery huh. I’m not a devout believer, so I hope I won’t be punished for requesting it.”

We continued our conversation along the main street.

As we left one alley and proceeded through a quiet residential area, the monastery building came into view. The bell tower that rang the bell stood tall, and the stone building was built close to the bell tower.

It seemed to also serve as an orphanage, and I could hear the cheerful voices of children. The kingdom was continuously in war and there were many war orphans.

“Alright. Let’s go in.”

Claude opened the iron gate and we both followed him. After a while, an elderly nun seemed to notice us and called out to us. I noticed that she was staring at our masks.

“What can I do for you today?”

“My name is Claude Elmur, an adventurer of the sixth rank. I have come here today to ask for the help of the Healer. I would be grateful for your assistance.”

Surprisingly, he handled it decently. “Hey sis! Lend me a healer, will you? Gahahaha!” I’m glad he didn’t say anything like that. Though I felt like I wanted to see that.

“Well, well, adventurers. The saint has just arrived. I will take you to her. This way, please.”

We followed the calm nun. We opened the door and entered the monastery, and were taken to a room on the second floor for visitors.

“I will call the saint.”

The nun exited. There was a rustic wooden chair and table. No tea or other luxuries, just a glass of water.

I was impressed by the simplicity and poverty of the place.

Looking out the window at the monastery garden, I could see a vineyard.

One of the orphans was being scolded by the nuns for trying to snack on the grapes. Although the nuns were preaching, the children’s faces were somehow cheerful, so I guessed they were being raised properly.

There was a knock at the door.

A few moments later, a woman entered the room with a clear voice.

“Pardon me. Thank you for coming to see me today. My name is Lilianne Lefebvre, and I am the Director of the Monastery of St. Latgrius.”

Her long, flowing, chestnut-colored hair peeked out from her hood. The white based nun’s uniform was perfectly suitable for a saint.

“Oh, you can stay seated. I will sit down too.”

As I was about to stand up and greet her, she smiled at me.

“Hey…… pretty lady…… I’m a little older than you…… maybe only like 20 years…”

“I don’t care…… I’m sorry……”

I whispered to Claude and had a conversation.

The saint stared at me with a smile on her face. She was probably waiting for me to finish our conversation. She seemed like a nice person.

“Ah……that mask…could it be the ‘Ash Swordsman’? There was a rumor in the market this morning.”

“Yes, Ash Swordsman-sama. Please answer the question.”

A half-smiling Claude poked me with his elbow, and I responded by stomping my foot at him. Without my knowledge, I had been given a name – a kind of second name – without my permission.

I guess I could be called the “Ash Swordsman” after my gray hair color.

“I’m embarrassed to say yes. The incident in the tavern had become a rumor, hadn’t it?”

“Hmm, no need to quarrel. I heard that he is a follower of Claude-sama. Is the man in the black mask next to you Claude’s son?”

“No, I’m the younger brother of the Ash Swordsman and I’m an apprentice magician.”

The Ash Swordsman nickname had taken hold. The fact that I hadn’t thought of a pseudonym came into play here. But the truth was that I didn’t feel like I could use both my fake name and my real name. It couldn’t be helped.

“Fufu, brothers is it. For such a little guy, being a magician is pretty impressive.”

“……Yes.”

Sareha replied with a blank stare. He looked at the saint with some disbelief in his eyes, but I don’t know why.

“I’ll send the healer over to the adventurer’s guild. When would be a good time?”

“Any time after this day is fine with me.”

“Well. If that’s the case, I’ll send one person to you after noon later. Since there will be a meeting and registration with the guild.”

The hiring of the healer went smoothly. The only thing left to do was to thank her and leave. It would be a mistake to talk too much and reveal our true identity.

“By the way…… Ash Swordsman-sama…… have we met somewhere?”

“Huh? No, I think this is our first meeting……”

“Light gray hair. You look like Marie von Forestier-sama…….”

This was very bad. I never thought she could mention my mother’s name. My heart started to beat faster, and the feeling of sweat on my back was unpleasant.

“There’s plenty of gray hair out there. As many as you could find throwing stones.”

“That’s true too. I’m sorry.”

“Hahahaha….”

“Didn’t you get baptized by the Pope six years ago……? I was there too, remember?”

I remember that I was baptized into the worshipping moon religion when I was ten years old.

Suddenly, a memory came back to me. The memory of that day when I was baptized by the Pope.

The Pope was a young girl about the same age as me. Even the Pope was just a puppet of the kingdom, and even the right to ordain priests was taken away, so she had no power and had fallen into an existence of authority only.

The Pope – or rather that girl was standing tall and desperately dripping holy oil on my head. Although a puppet would still be a puppet no matter how hard she tried to perform her duties.

“I can’t imagine a commoner like me being baptized by the Pope…… I was baptized by a priest back home.”

“Well, what’s the priest’s name?”

Sweat dropped from my fists as I clenched them in my lap. Even if I begged God for help, the saint in front of me would get priority. I wasn’t even a devout believer.

I was careless. As the director of a religious order, she often had to deal with royalty in ceremonial events. But I didn’t expect her to suspect my true identity so soon.

To be honest, I didn’t care if my true identity was exposed. I’d rather be targeted directly than have an assassin go to my territory where everyone else was. But I was planning to do that after I earned money and fame to develop my territory.

“I am just Claude-sama’s shadow…… so I can’t tell you much about ourselves. I’m sorry, saint.”

“…… You fool. Don’t use me as a cover.”

There was a whispered reprimand and then Claude kicked me in the leg under the table.

“Well, well, it was certainly impolite of me to ask your identity at our first meeting. I apologize, Ash Swordsman-sama.”

“That’s all right. But thank you for taking care of our healer problem.”

“Yeah, I’ll send one…… over to you……”

The saint stood up and bowed. I returned the bow and left the room.

The meeting ended with a sense of uneasiness, as if we had barely made it through or screwed up.

All that was left was to register with the adventurer’s guild and dive into a reasonable dungeon. Then, I would earn money and fame incessantly.

It would be great if I could use the fame I had accumulated to get in touch with merchants. If any merchant could buy the demon materials that were abundant in my territory, I would be able to earn money faster.

However, the potions that were made in the territory might cause confusion if we were to sold them because their performance was out of the ordinary.

“Well then, Ash Swordsman-sama…… until we meet again…….”

The saint saw me off to the iron gate and gave me a few parting words.

The moment she said, “See you again”, the saint’s smile disappeared, which scared me. No matter how you look at it, she suspects me.

“Claude. When the healers come, we’ll go dungeon diving. I like the idea of getting rich.”

“You’re crazy…… I’m getting sick to my stomach just listening to that conversation……”

“Maybe the saint won’t come as a healer…… I don’t think she’d leave her job as director to come.”

“It’s really never a dull moment with you. Maybe next time you’ll get a god to join you?”

He was speaking sarcastically. Harsh.