CH 3

“What is this!”

The king and the dwarf had arrived at the scene. There were two girls with black hair that were groaning on the floor. The two who had arrived first were now covered in filth.

“It reeks of alcohol.”

The dwarf mumbled.

“It appears that the current Saintess is of a drinking age then.”

The king called after the priests who were frantically running around the room.

“The Saintess is not feeling her best. Hurry up and take her to her room so she can be cleaned. Aeris, Zynis, you two should take a bath. Then you can tell me about what happened in my office!”

The priests and knights immediately began to move. There were also two handmaidens who had had to wait idly for six months who looked excited to have something to do again.

“Sir knight, please offer the Saintess your shoulder.”

“Would it not be faster to carry her?”

“She will surely expel something again if you did that. We must not allow her to sway too much, move her slowly.”

Like this, nearly unconscious Maki and the very conscious and alert Chiharu were taken to their rooms. Indeed, Chiharu thought. Imagine if the first time you were carried like a princess was because you were being cared for as a drunkard.

The two were quickly cleaned with warm towels before being made to drink water that had a citrus smell. Then they were given pajamas that looked like bathrobes.

“The talk can wait for tomorrow.”

They were told as they were put into bed. Chiharu had resisted the idea of separate rooms, and so they shared a bed that was still spacious with two people in it. Seeing that they had settled in their covers, the handmaidens bid them goodnight.

“If you require anything, just ring the bell by the pillows. Now, goodnight.”

“Um.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you.”

Chiharu said in a quiet voice. The handmaid’s smiled and left.

Maki was sleeping peacefully next to her.

“You really are something, Maki-chan. Thank god tomorrow is a Saturday.”

She had no idea what was happening. But they hadn’t been asked to do anything impossible as was usual in these other world scenarios. They seemed to be kind people, seeing as that man had picked up and played with a stranger like Maki. She did not know what the future held, but she decided to just sleep for now.

It did not take long for there to be two sleeping people in the bed. The crowd who had gathered outside of the room, ears pressed against the door, sighed in relief.

“Well then. Let us return to my office. Sera, you will come as well.”

“Yes.”

The king said to one of the handmaids. Two guards then moved to stand by the door. Then they went back to the office. In the office, waited the elf and beastman. Both were only half dry and had serious expressions. Aside from them, the chancellor, prince, king, dwarf and the handmaid called Sera were in the room. Then the king opened his mouth.

“Well, as they both had bangs, I could not tell which was the Saintess. Who of the two had the mark? Sera.”

“Oh.”

Sera hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Um, they both had the mark.”

Both the prince and the chancellor, who had not been to the temple, shouted in surprise.

“Good lord! Two Saintesses this time!”

“What does it mean? It has no precedence.”

The king furrowed his eyebrows.

“Not only that, but this time it took six months for one to arrive. These are strange times. Chancellor, had there been any divine revelations?”

“I have heard of no such reports.”

“Then that means there are two of them. Or double the purification ability. Or maybe each has half of the power. In any case, thanks to the previous Saintess living so modestly, we have plenty of funds to accommodate two. As there are two this time, their responsibilities in each land might also increase. Well, we will send them out within reason. It should not be a problem. That is all.”

“May we not have them start tomorrow?”

“We will follow the Saintess manual. They will likely consider it for a month, at worst for half a year before accepting. The thing is to allow them to live quietly and peacefully so they do not go mad at first.”

Here the hard-faced Aeris added.

“Then perhaps it was a good thing that there are two of them. They do seem to be acquaintances.”

“She was not afraid of beastfolk.”

Zynis said. Aeris smirked and cupped his chin with his hand.

“Yes, now that I think of it. You may finally have a Saintess willing to visit your kingdom. She even appeared to enjoy some height. I dare say she may be able to ride the airships. Perhaps we can send one to the beast kingdom and one to the elf lands.”

“You are getting ahead of yourself Aeris. Really, three-hundred-years-old and you still have not calmed down…”

“But, Arthur.”

“Women of other countries tend to prefer quietness. You must avoid giving them any pressure.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“However…”

The dwarf mumbled.

“What is it? Grudo.”

“Would such a quiet woman drink to the point of vomiting?”

“Indeed.”

“Had you noticed that, Arthur?”

The king furrowed his brows again. Zynis and Aeris frowned. That had been quite a shocking experience for them.

“Well, they were summoned with the weight of the world on their shoulders. It would make anyone sick.”

“That will be the official story then. In any case, I’ve become tired of this boring palace life. Things are starting to get interesting.”

Said the king and Grudo.

“Tomorrow. We will see how they are doing, and talk if they are able.”

And so it was decided. As everyone left the room, the prince approached Aeris.

“Um, Aeris. What did you think of them?”

“That is a difficult question. When I first saw them, they were curled up on the floor. And when I helped one of them who was about to fall, I only saw the back of her head. Just as I thought she had looked towards me, she discharged, you know. I only saw that she was short and had black hair.”

“That seems to be a feature of the other country. I expected that. I want to know what else was different.”

“She stank of liquor.”

“So she must be an adult then. I wonder if I we will be able to get along.”

“Prince, Saintesses do not bear children. It is out of the question for them to marry into the royal family. And it is still too early for you. You are only eighteen.”

Aeirs said with finality.

“Well, I am still an adult. And it is not as if there were any divine message about them not bearing children. Just because it has been so until now, it does not mean that these Saintesses are the same.”

“Well, you can hold whatever dreams you want. Zynis, you look very happy.”

“Aye. I became the first beastman to touch a Saintess in many years.”

“It is almost surprising that the Saintesses of old did not fear beastfolk, now. I am not sure how I feel about them yet. But I doubt I shall be bored at least.”

“That is true.”

They left the room, along with the prince who was still annoyed at being treated like a child. They would get a good look at their faces tomorrow. And then Aeris noticed it, the air in the palace had become perfectly clear.