Seijo ni Narunode Nidoume no Jinsei wa Katte ni Sasetemoraimasu ~Outaihi wa, Zensei de Watashi wo Fu

 

     As Liz went to the dining room she saw one of the saint candidates, Manon. She seems to have finished her breakfast, now sipping her tea and nibbling something from her plate.     

     “Good morning, Manon. What is that?”

     On the plate in front of Manon was a heap of shriveled black stuff.

     “It’s fermented eggplants. I love this.”

     “Oh.”

     ‘Speaking of which, the current saint also loves fermented eggplant.’

     Previously, she found a pot under the ground while digging a hole. She remembered that time that a maid said that it’s a favorite of the current saint.

     ‘Manon is with me…’

     She looked at the Manon, who stabbed her fork on an eggplant, happily bringing it to her mouth.

     “Do you want to eat it, Liz? It tastes good on bread, it can be mixed in salad, and whatever it is, it tastes good even if it is submerged in herbal tea. The smell of herbs is a bit strange, but it has a slightly different flavor. Also, when you eat with sweet desserts, they taste sour and it becomes a unique taste, which is quite good. Well, it’s the best thing to eat right there.”

     “…I suppose so.”

     How much does she like eggplants? It was a bit of a shock. 

""

     From the counter in front, there’s a good smell of consommé soup. Liz immediately received her breakfast from a maid serving them. She sat across from Manon.

     Today’s menu includes whole bread, steaming consommé soup, several kinds of ham, vegetable salad and scrambled eggs full of butter.

     “It looks delicious.” Liz’s eyes sparkled.

     Since she lived in a poor village, she looked forward to her meals after she came to the temple. There were a lot of foods she had eaten for the first time and dishes that she has never seen before. Perhaps, that’s why she got a little bit of flesh in her lean body.

     ‘Well, it’s good. To be able to eat something as delicious as this.’

     “Kyu!” The Holy Dragon, waiting on the table, chirped up. In front of it is the same dish that was given to Liz. Before, she used to divide her food with it, but now, the maids prepare and bring each meal to it.

     The reason is, of course, a bruising gesture, a mockery to the Holy Dragon. If the maid brought food to it, it would give a sweet “kyu” and would show it’s neck. The maids would be very satisfied. Moreover, the plate would be full of meat, less vegetables, and the soup is properly cooled. 

     “Thank you for the food.”

     “Kyu!”

     Manon, who had been watching Liz and the Holy Dragon eating side by side, laughed. “You and the Holy dragon are alike. You both act the same way.”

     Excuse me. Liz frowned. The holy dragon also looked unhappy with a disgruntled expression. Manon laughed, not releasing her hold on the fork with the eggplant. Liz didn’t want to be laughed at by such an eggplant lover.

     “Speaking of which, what about the black leopard? You’re not together.” Liz asked. 

     Manon’s alone. The figure of the black leopard, the holy beast, is nowhere to be seen.

     “It’s in the room. They don’t eat every meal like humans do. A holy beast born from the sacred fruit, not a real animal. It doesn’t have to eat.”

     Liz was surprised. Is that so?

     “The Holy dragon eats three meals a day.” It also eats during snack time. Besides that, it’d also eat apples and bread and so on.

     “That’s why…” Manon looked at the holy dragon bawling hams meaningfully. She knows what Liz meant, “Holy Dragon has become round, right?”

     Liz hurriedly reached out to the Holy Dragon. It’s a taboo. Even if she wouldn’t say it out loud, the holy dragon, who sensed the atmosphere, would attack. Like the time when it pulled on Liz’s hair and kicked Lloyd.

     “No, Holy dragon!—eh?” She was dumbfounded. The Holy Dragon only glanced at Manon, then it immediately returned to its meal.

     ‘Why?’

     

     Then, Sheena showed up, “Good morning, everyone. It’s a pleasant morning.”

     “Miss Sheena! Did you sleep well?”

     “Well, yes. Thank you.”

     “Would you like to sit here, Miss Sheena? I’d love to hear your story in Colorado!”

     “Well, if you’ll have someone like me to talk to, I’ll tell you about it as much as you want within my ability.”

     “I want to hear it, too!”

     She’s very popular with the maids. Of course, she’s the saint of Colorado. There was no sign of triumph in her face nor her atmosphere around her which she had shown when she’s in front of Liz. She gave out a quiet, gentle, and noble air around her.

     A strange sensation went up on Liz’s chest. She’s not going to deny her ‘intuition’, she has always had faith and believed in it. Nevertheless, it’s a fact that Sheena nursed the people for free in the midst of the war. She is far from the Emilia that Liz knows.

     But if Sheena was really Emilia, she could not forgive her. When Lloyd came to pick Emilia up as a candidate for the next holy saint, she was falsely charged. If he did not take her, Liz would have been executed and Emilia would have escaped her destiny from the monastery where she was supposed to atone for her crime.

     It’s crap. Yes.

     “What’s the matter?” Manon raised her eyebrows when she noticed Liz’s unusual appearance.

     “…it’s nothing.”

     “Is that so?”

     Suddenly, a maid screamed, “Oh, dear! No, what should I do!? I’m sorry!” She spilled the tea from the teapot that she was holding on the sleeve of Sheena’s dress.

     Liz breathed in. A similar thing had happened in her hometown. It was during the harvest festival that takes place in their village.

     Usually, nobles like Emilia don’t dine with people of the domain like Liz. However, it’s only different during festivals. At a banquet in the village square, Emilia’s father and grandfather would bring alcohol and unusual foods.The daughter, Emilia, would be present. Nevertheless it’s written all over her face, “I really don’t like it, but my father told me I had to come.”

     At that time, a woman in the village was pouring some alcohol, accidentally spilled some on the dress Emilia was wearing. Emilia’s complexion clearly changed. She’s always selfish and domineering. The woman turned pale. She apologized, rubbing her head against the ground with a tearful face.

     That time, she was seated during the festival, soothed by the feast. Though, Emilia was terribly angry that her face twitched in fury. However, the festival ended with nothing happening. 

     But later, the young son of the woman disappeared. The woman was frantic, and the villagers all searched with her, but they couldn’t find him. Many of the villagers knew who it was. The woman would have known too. Even so, she could not oppose nor go against the nobles. 　

     Emilia does that. She’d find a person’s weakness and would poke them right there.

     Liz knows that she’ll do that. So, she quickly got up to protect the maid who spilled the tea. But—

     “It’s all right. I’m sorry that I was standing in the middle of the way.” Sheena bowed.

     Liz was stunned and placed her hands on the table. The maid, too, was surprised.

     “Not at all! I’ll wipe it off at once!’

     “It’s okay. To tell you the truth, I thought it was a little hot. That’s why it’s nice to feel cool.” She softly smiled, as if she were lifting the guilt from the woman. In addition, the gentle tone of her voice sounded like a ‘saint’ that makes one want to pray with all their heart.

     In front of the startled Liz.

     “Miss Sheena…!” The maid’s eyes misted.

     “How kind you are! Oh, I almost cried.”

""

     “Well, it’s amazing. That’s exactly a “saint.” “

     The other maids spoke rapturously.

     “ ‘That’s the saint.’ She’s in the temple and she’s not a candidate for being the next saint.”  Manon smiled wryly. she went on, muttering to herself, “Some of them would say that Sheena’s worthy to be the next saint.”

     “Oh.” Liz clenched her fists on the table.

     Sheena walked towards her with the admirable, heavy gazes of the maids. Liz did not look at her way, but she went still on her way through Liz’s side.

     “Oh, dear!” She gave a little scream and suddenly fell upon the floor. Liz was surprised, even the Holy dragon too. The round bread that it was gnawing on fell out of its mouth.

     “Kyu…”

     “Ouch…”

     “Miss Sheena, are you okay! What happened!?” The maids rushed over her. 

     Sheena rubbed her right leg and smiled with a pitiable look.”I’m all right. It looks like I’ve stumbled over something. How embarrassing.”

     “Did you stumble … on the foot of the table?”

     “No, it wasn’t. What is it? It’s more soft…Yes, it’s like a human foot…!”

     Inevitably, all eyes were drawn to Liz, who was just beside her. A feeling of disgust pervaded deep inside Liz’s chest. It seemed that she had pulled out her leg for Sheena to roll down. Even if it wasn’t intentional. 

     Liz wanted to laugh, she wouldn’t do such a thing like a childish prank. But she couldn’t, not in such an atmosphere.

     “I didn’t do anything.” Liz slowly and calmly denied. 

     However, Sheena shouted to cover up Liz’s words, “I’m sorry, I must be mistaken!　It was not a person’s leg.Yes, it was the leg table! Yes, it was. I’m sorry I made a mistake…!” she impatiently said while smiling weakly. She took a few steps backward as if she was afraid of Liz, hiding behind a maid.

     ‘This is…’

     It sounds as if Sheena was covering for Liz. The cold gazes of the maids pierced her.

     There is a clear disadvantage between Sheena, who looks weak, and Liz, who looks feeble. Liz let out a breath and frowned.

 

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