CH 34

It was simply a part of the thank-you.

“Hey, Maria, you don’t mind if I meet your brother and sister, do you?”

He felt indebted not only to Alphana but also to Maria for her care.

He likes the way she treats everyone at the academy without using her prestige as a princess, and more than anything else, she has helped him in many ways, including with the matter of the orb.

Even if their underlying desire is to be useful to Haishin, they still are kind towards Kanata.

“You want to, really?”

Kanata nodded.

He would show up as Haishin but wouldn’t meet them as Kanata, to which Maria nodded, and Alphana said she’d help.

Having, once again, taken out his black robe and mask, which were now almost black history, Kanata made his way to the stage as a Haishin.

“Father, we would love to speak with him too.”

“Yes, Father! It’s not fair that Maria’s always by his side.”

But, well. It was Kanata and his party’s lack of attention that caused such a big commotion when originally, they were only to meet her younger brother and sister.

Alphana stood firmly by Kanata’s side, and Maria, too, was looking at her family with caution and an impatience that was evident in her hands as she was panicking that her family was in serious trouble.

(… Well, it’s in the castle… No, it’s just a commotion between them. I’d hate it if it were a national assembly, though don’t worry about it that much, Maria.)

That being said, he couldn’t convey the voice in his heart to her.

The King and Queen, together with Maria’s older and younger siblings, stood reservedly in the back with a twinkle in their eyes.

He wanted to get his business done quickly, but no matter how much of a Haishin he was, he couldn’t do anything on his own in front of the country’s king… but he still wished to reassure Maria.

“Maria.”

Kanata muttered, and suddenly the air around her died.

No, death was an overstatement, but it had gone quiet.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s just another price to pay for fame.”

“… Haishin-sama.”

She did not say ‘Kanata’ but the word ‘Haishin.’ Once again, it made his batch itch to get referred to as ‘-sama’ in this way.

Alphana always calls him Kanata-sama, but he has gotten used to that and stopped minding it.

“Once again, I’m Haishin. Nice to meet you.”

Only now, at this moment, Kanata decided to become Haishin.

He didn’t have to put much effort to be Haishin because it is his other self, but he always has an imposing appearance when he speaks to a terminal.

“Oh, yeah… It’s my pleasure.”

“Thank you for coming here.”

Both of them stopped talking, overwhelmed by Kanata’s presence.

“Maria and Alphana have been taking good care of me for some time now. So, I’ve always wanted to thank her for her support, and coincidentally I heard her siblings want to meet me.”

Saying that, Kanata started to walk.

The younger brother and sister were waiting with the two maids, but both looked somewhat nervous with their sparkling eyes.

“I’m Haishin. Can I ask you both your names?”

Kanata laughed under his mask at how silly he looked.

“It’s Ars!”

“I’m Fiona…!?”

Ars and Fiona. That seems to be their name.

Kanata reached out and stroked Ars and Fiona’s heads as he continued speaking.

“Ars and Fiona. Wonderful names.”

Kanata laughed a little at Ars, who tried acting cool, and Fiona, who bit her lip and shied away in embarrassment.

He could feel the Kings’ eyes on him while he talked with them, but today they were the only purpose of his visit.

‘I’m going to ask you to be patient,’ Kanata thought.

(Originally, something like this wouldn’t be possible. Although I can’t complain about being slashed in the back for being rude.)

But it was Haishin’s prestige that made it possible.

While it felt somewhat incredulous, Kanata thought of the situation slightly differently because it was so fluffy, just like in a manga.

This was because the king of a country should not have been so humble to Kanata.

“Haishin-sama, can you do the usual?”

“The usual?”

‘What’s the usual?’ He asked himself, and Fiona continued to speak.

“Um, that… when you start your stream!”

“Oh, that.”

Kanata nodded. That much is fine.

“Hey, guys! It’s that time of the day again!!”

“Owaaaa ♪”

“A-amazing!”

Incidentally, the Queen almost collapsed as if she had anemia when she heard Kanata’s voice just now, but the King properly caught her.

“Ah, I’m dizzy…”

“Excuse me?”

The maid who was listening nearby collapsed as if she had suffered from an attack.

They didn’t seem to mind that a person had fallen. The other maid, let alone Alphana, didn’t want to move at all.

Over the next while, Kanata spent time with Ars and Fiona.

“I think it’s important to speak openly and objectively at all times. Of course, depending on the content, one may side with one side or the other.”

“I see…”

“…”

Although it was only a few dozen minutes, the two left with regretful looks on their faces, as if they were about to go study.

“It’s nice to see a little kid smile.”

“Right.”

While Maria somehow managed to keep her family from going out of control, Alphana stayed by Kanata’s side the whole time.

The way she acted like a saint brought him peace, and with Alphana by his side, he didn’t feel nervous at all, even in the royal castle.

“Well, I think that’s enough for now.”

“As you wish.”

Kanata started to walk away, deciding to leave now that he had done what he needed to do.

Naturally, the kings still want to talk to him, but they still seem to respect Kanata’s will to no end.

“Haishin-sama, it is because of people like you that this country has changed. Whether it’s about slavery or status, we’ve moved a lot because of your voice.”

The King’s words were an honour, but as Kanata, he had something to say.

“Part of me wishes you’d made a move before I said anything.”

“Right… I agree with you.”

The King nodded with his eyes closed as he took Kanata’s words deeply to heart.

Whether it was about slaves or about status, that’s something he had to work on himself rather than someone else telling him what to do to make the country better.

If Kanata hadn’t moved… Well, someone else would have, but if you were to ask him if he sincerely was happy to be thanked for that, he was not.

“This country’s a good place.”

Those were words from Kanata’s heart.

He didn’t know what they would think of that small talk, but Kanata decided to leave the royal castle with such words.

He smiled at the people who looked very disappointed and said he would come back if he had the chance.

[Then let the full might of the nation greet you!]

Kanata concluded that he would never come.

Maria parted from him, as she still had business at the castle, but Alphana stayed by Kanata’s side as usual.

Kanata couldn’t stay in his Haishin form forever, so Alphana took him to the church.

“… phew.”

He went directly from the castle to a room in the church without getting noticed thanks to Alphana’s magic that made his presence invisible.

When he took off his black robe, the sweltering heat escaped him.

The temperature was quite high, as it was almost summer, and he was drenched in sweat under the black robe and mask.

“… I’m going to get a heat stroke.”

Kanata clearly experienced with his own body how hard it was to work in a stuffed animal costume in his previous life and the reason why.

Alphana came into the room as he finished getting dressed.

“Good work, Kanata-sama.”

“Thanks for your help. Alphana.”

“No, no, I’m happy if I can be of help to Kanata-sama.”

Kanata was really impressed with how kind she was.

As for the costume he had, he gave it to Alphana as she said she would put a cleaning spell on it, and Kanata excused himself as he needed to go to the bathroom.

It was a few minutes before he headed to the bathroom and back, and when he returned to his room, Kanata tilted his head.

“Is something wrong?”

“… Nothing.”

He felt a sweet scent wafting somewhere in the room.

He didn’t find out what it was, but afterwards, he returned to his dormitory to enjoy the snacks Alphana had prepared for him.

A Saint. Written as ‘holy woman’ and read as ‘saint.’

[EDN: Talking about the kanji.]

A saint is also one of the country’s representatives, not to mention a sacred being.

Many people in the kingdom admire the Saint and revere her as a precious being, praising her achievements.

“… Han… han ♪.”

Just after Kanata headed to the bathroom, Alphana was holding the black robe Kanata had taken off to her body with all her might.

Sniffling, a heart mark appeared on her eyes.

Combined with the presence of Kanata and confirming that no one was nearby, Alphana buried her face in her black robe… and visited the Goddess, albeit for a moment.

“Go back. But before that, give it to me.”

She felt like she was told something she didn’t know very well, but Alphana returned.

“… Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing? Ufufu ♪.”

Written as ‘holy woman’ and read as ‘saint.’

But a saint is also a human being and a girl… Well, I guess they do at least this much.

But it could be considered the other way around.

This world was a bleak place not too long ago, and there are still small parts where conflict continues.

But the fact that Alphana could spend her time leisurely like this was proof that the kingdom was at peace.