Chapter 321

The Mushroom Eating Saint, Princess Mia

“Princess Mia has been the perfect example of a saint through this whole thing. Do you not see how honest and good she was in how she lived her life?”

“...Eh?”

Mia looked at Rafina, then at Santeri, and then back at Rafina.

It didn’t work, so she just kept blinking.

“A-A saint? What are you saying?”

Santeri asked, which turned out to be good for Mia as well. Rafina looked at the confused man for a moment and then spoke in a quiet voice.

“Santeri, do you really think Mia did what she did because she was selfish? That she did those things to help herself?”

“Are you saying that she didn’t do it?”

Rafina nodded solemnly.

“Of course, yes. Mia, don’t you think so?”

Mia’s first reaction when she heard her own name was to copy Rafina’s serious nod and agree with what had been said.

Honestly, she had no idea what Rafina was talking about, but that didn’t matter. She liked to ride waves, and there was no doubt that this was a wave. In typical Mia fashion, she gave up control to the forces around her and let them pull her in any way they wanted.

Rafina smiled with satisfaction when she saw Mia’s weak smile of agreement.

“Just as I thought. Mia would never do something so self-centered and stupid. She didn’t say it as a joke or prank, either. Consider it. Don’t you think it’s strange that she took us mushroom hunting and then found poisonous mushrooms in the forest? Not only that, but she chose a slightly poisonous one to bring back with her, dropped it into the pot of stew without any of us noticing, and then ate it herself. What are the odds of that happening, hm? Should we think that all of these things happened by chance? Does that even sound a little bit possible to you?”

“W-Well, I suppose not... When you look at it that way, it seems...planned.”

“Intentional. In other words, she did it on purpose to get sick. Does that sound like something people usually do?”

“N-No, I don’t believe so...”

Santeri said that Mia’s strange behaviour was strange, so Rafina gave him one last push.

“Then why? Why would she do something so out of character? She needed a reason. She had a goal, an objective.” she said with complete certainty.

“An... objective? What was it?”

Santeri and Mia both asked the same question, though Mia asked it in silence. Mia waited with bated breath for Rafina’s big reveal, which would be the first time she found out her own secret goal.

“Her goal,” Rafina said, “is to change how we handle security for the Holy Eve Festival.”

“What?! What exactly do you mean? What’s wrong with the way we protect ourselves?”

Santeri yelled angrily, and his tone showed that he was sure of the quality of his own work.

“I think Mia already gave you an answer to your question. She got poison on an island where it shouldn’t be possible, added it to a pot of stew, and then ate it. Do you not think this is a security issue?”

“It...”

He thought for a moment, then shook his head quickly.

“Very well. I will admit that what she found was important. We didn’t think the island would have poisonous mushrooms growing on it. But even if you could get poisonous mushrooms here that could kill you, getting past the guards and rules we have on the day of the festival to actually use the poison is a different story. I don’t think they’re the same thing.”

Santeri’s counterargument didn’t change Rafina’s mood, which remained grave.

“True... It’s probably not possible to add poison to the banquet feast. Our students will eat the food there, and we have put in place strict rules to make sure they are safe. But what about their helpers? Is their food safe?”

Rafina’s eyes were fixed on Santeri as she thought.

“Which food, the food we got today as student council members or the food that will be served to people at the Holy Eve Festival, will be looked at more closely?”

Possible killers didn’t just try to kill people on the day of the festival. To make up for this, strict security measures were always in place to make sure that people like Rafina and the people on her council were safe every day. So, Santeri had no choice but to say that the security around the food that was served to the attendants was less strict.

“But... Hm, attendants, you say?”

He made a puzzled face at the idea.

“It’s good that you’re willing to take responsibility and quit. If you feel bad about what you did, it makes sense that you would want to get punished. But Mia punishment is not what Mia desires.”

Rafina then turned to look at Mia.

“Huh? Uh... That’s right...”

Mia felt scared, even though she had no idea what anyone was talking about. She was so far behind in the conversation that its shape had long since faded into the horizon of talk, leaving her with no idea where to go.

She picked up the cup of tea in front of her and took a slow sip to calm herself down. The soothing liquid helped her scattered ideas come together.

Well, I suppose I would feel bad if this guy lost his job because I ate a poisonous mushroom... Even more so if they found out I did it for a pretty dumb reason. That would make me feel very bad...and look even worse.

Coward Tactics 101: Always plan for the worst. There would be...consequences if Rafina ever found out that there was no grand plan of selfless altruism and she had to fire one of her loyal subjects because Mia did something stupid.

Angry Rafina consequences. That was a nightmare come true! She felt sick again just thinking about it.

I need to set things up so that if I get caught, it won’t be too bad. If I don’t stop worrying, the stress of it might kill me. At the same time, I’d like to keep the whole thing quiet if I can. Still, if I can avoid getting caught in the first place, that would be even better...

After doing some quick math in her head, she smiled like a saint.

“Miss Rafina has forgiven me for my sin, which was to eat a poisonous mushroom on my own free will.”

First, she used a classic “done deal” opening. By saying ahead of time that she had been excused for her behaviour, she hoped to make it clear that it was true and take away any reason to dig deeper into why it happened.

“Even though I don’t think she’s done anything wrong to me, Miss Rafina seems to feel bad about herself. So, I think it’s important to formally address this matter. I forgive Miss Rafina for anything she thinks she may have done to hurt me.”

Next, she started making it hard for her opponent to move. She especially wanted to make sure Rafina didn’t spend too much time thinking about her supposed mistake and come up with some strange ideas as a result. The matter was done. It was dead and buried. It should never be dug up again to be examined. It was like sweeping the elephant in the room under the rug, but she was going to do it! Mia was the best at hiding the truth when it was inconvenient.

Then, as the third and final hit in her three-hit combination...

“And if Miss Rafina and I are to be forgiven, it is not fair at all for you to carry your sins alone and not be forgiven. I think we should all be a part of this forgiveness.”

Putting all the blame on Santeri at the end of this situation was a great way to start trouble. Those who had to take the blame would feel angry. It would grow inside them, feeding those bad seeds until the time was right for them to grow. Then, their old anger might make them want to find out the hard truths from the past.

In other words, it could come back and bite her, and she didn’t like the feeling of teeth on her soft behind.

What she didn’t want was clear explanations of the truth. Mia’s dream was for everyone to lie together and hide the truth with so much buttery nonsense that no one could tell the truth from the lies even if they tried.

She sat on the elephant-shaped bump under the rug and gave herself a satisfied nod.

Then she looked at Santeri and saw that his face looked...different. Like the rare melting of snowy permafrost, his cold face gave way just a little bit, revealing the soft earth underneath.

Mia quickly added a few more words because she could smell a chance.

“However, I’d like to make one thing clear. I have nothing but the highest regard for the work you do.”

First, a compliment. Always start by being nice.

“And I’m looking forward to seeing how hard you work to reach even higher levels of excellence.”

The seeds came next. Not seeds of worry, but of hope.

Mia’s life was directly linked to what Santeri did for a living. It couldn’t be stressed enough how important it was. The more he cared about it, the better her chances of survival.

Right now, it seems like he’s a little more willing to listen. I think I might be able to persuade him to keep looking out for the safety of the island. In fact, if I can get him even more fired up, he might be able to stop me from being killed...

Cowardly Strategy 102: Prepare early and prepare extensively.

She did everything she could to increase her chances of making it through the Holy Eve Festival.

“You... look forward... I see...” Santeri’s face was far away and almost blank for a long time.

Then he said, “I can see that you are worthy of being called a saint. I will remember what you said and use it to help me do my job better.”

He got down on one knee in front of her and swore this.

Santeri Bandler spent the rest of his life making sure that Saint-Noel Island was safe. Even though he was old, the head of security was known for being eager to get advice from his younger coworkers and always giving what they said serious thought.

“I’ve learned that there are people who are smarter than me. I also know that at my age, experience tends to make people’s minds more set in their ways. That’s why I need to ask the young for help. Even though they have less experience, they have more open minds, and what they say is worth thinking about. By thinking about every point of view, I can see more. Only then can I hope to be ready for everything that could happen.”

The old man’s belief became the guiding principle of Saint-security Noel’s force, making the island safer and more peaceful than ever before.