Volume 1 - CH 18

God’s salvation for the lost lambs. Let Buddha’s mercy be shown to the suffering beings. 

An older sister’s words to a distressed younger sister. 

“Will Aime be willing to go to the capital if I go too?”

I looked next to me and saw that Rille-nee was even smiling at me. I was taken aback by her surprising words. 

“You’ll go to the capital too? Eh, does that mean Rille-nee will be attending magic school too?”

“No, I don’t understand difficult things. I meant that I’ll go to the capital to work, so that I can live with you, Aime.”

“… Really?”

I must have looked pretty stupid at that moment. 

That thought never crossed my mind. 

“Yeah.”

Rille-nee gently put her hand on my head. 

“We’ve always together when we’re anxious or scared, aren’t we?”

Yeah… She’s right, we were together, so we were okay no matter what happened to us. 

Oh, I see. I was just scared. 

Not because of Rille-nee or Gis-nee, but about living in an unknown place by myself. 

But my anxiety faded away as soon as Rille-nee said she was coming with me. I never knew I was a kid like this. 

“But, but what about the store?”

“Hmm… Ah, how about we all move to the capital?”

It was quite a bold idea. Everyone smiled wryly. 

I thought it was a pretty good idea, and I meant it. 

There will be more people in the capital and if we advertise well, then we can make more money than now. Our medicine has a good reputation. We can borrow money from Chancellor Leonard to cover the cost of moving the store. 

“I wish I could.”

I had already started formulating a plan in my head, but Gis-nee didn’t even think about it and quickly replied. 

“You can’t?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t go to the capital because of personal reasons.”

“… You mean from the time when you were a soldier?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Seriously, what happened to her there? There must be some dark reason behind this. 

“Can you make medicine, Ridill?”

Chancellor Leonard asked to change the topic. 

I realised that they were completely unwilling to tell me the reason. 

“For example, can you make salves and patch people up?”

“If it’s just that, then I do it all the time.”

“Great.”

Chancellor Leonard looked at Rille-nee and smiled. 

“You sisters are really talented. I believe you’d be a good educator as well, Giselle.”

“I didn’t do anything. It’s all the result of their hard work.”

Then, the Chancellor turned to the puzzled Rille-nee.

“Actually, the palace’s medical department is short of manpower.”

… Palace? No way…

“There hasn’t been a battle in a long time, but it’s a place where soldiers who are undergoing rigorous training are brought in. One of the women who was assisting the doctor there retired just the other day when she got married. I’m looking for her replacement. I’d be happy for you to take her place if you’d like.”

“Yo-you want me to work in the palace?”

Rille-nee was so surprised that she choked on her words. 

I see, the job is to take care of the wounded soldiers, a military physician so-to-speak. 

I guess the patients are all strong guys like Gis-nee. I feel a bit uneasy about it, but I believe it’s a place where Rille-nee can make full use of her abilities. 

This doesn’t really matter, but how does the Chancellor know about the personnel of another department? Is this normal? 

“Of course, the medical department will decide whether or not you’ll be hired, but I’m sure you’ll do fine since you studied under Giselle.”

“Y-yes, thank you very much. B-but…”

“That’s a good idea.”

Gis-nee added to support the Chancellor’s words. 

“The doctors who work at the palace are much more knowledgeable than I am. There’s no better environment to study medicinal herbs.”

“…”

Rille-nee was probably silent because she was fascinated. She can work and study at the same time and she also doesn’t have to separate from me. 

But…

“――― Say, is it really alright?”

I want to go to the capital.

I want to go, but Rille-nee and I have been too indebted to Gis-nee to prioritise what we want. 

“We haven’t done much to pay you back for all you’ve done for us.”

“It’s hard to run a store by yourself, isn’t it Gis-nee?”

“Don’t worry too much.”

Gis-nee looked cheerful while our expressions were clouded with anxiety, loneliness and guilt. 

She suddenly stood up, hugged us both and rubbed our heads with her big hands. 

“Who cares about that? You’re my family, aren’t you?”

Rille-nee and I were both at a loss for words, then we heard Gis-nee’s grumbling voice. 

“Am I wrong?”

“Y-you’re not!”

“We’re family!”

Rille-nee and my voice overlapped in panic. 

“Then, don’t hesitate. I’ll be happy if my sisters become accomplished.”

Those deep and thoughtful words quietly pushed me on the back. 

“Don’t worry about the store or anything else. You’ve helped me enough and every day has been fun.”

This person’s past remains a mystery as always, but when she hugged me and said that I felt like everything was fine. 

Her past doesn’t matter. This person is undoubtedly our family. 

“… Gis-nee.”

“What is it?”

“Can you not go to the capital for your whole life?”

“… Well, maybe I’ll be able to go when you come of age, Aime.”

What? That’s not that far away then. 

“Then, let’s open a store in the capital when that day comes. Rille-nee and I will earn a lot of money and save up for a store. Then, the three of us will live together again.”

I also put my arms around her to hug her. 

I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear her laugh. 

“I’m looking forward to it.

――― Alright, I’ll do my best. 

I need to pass the exam first. 

I’m going to get on the highway to success for the future of my beloved family.