The Soldier and The Novelist

She Wants to Act Like a Dignified Novelist

The city of a hundred towers.

Ixlaha is a city with various names, but the oldest known name is the city of a hundred towers. The area that contributed significantly to the origin of this name is the Souto district located in the southern part of the city.

In this area, there are numerous brick towers over 50 years old, which are managed by the church, and they account for about one-third of Ixlaha’s total number of towers. It also means that the major facilities of the Holy See are concentrated in this area: the Ixlaha city hall, the Grand York governor’s office, the eastern continent parliament, and the eastern church headquarter. These are all formal institutions that are not particularly relevant to people like me.

Among them, we were standing in front of the exceptionally massive building, the Ixlaha guest house. The white building made of what appeared to be limestone was adorned with exquisite patterns and had an excessive amount of windows for daylighting on its walls. Of course, two guards were standing in front of the entrance gate like accessories.

“Is this where your appointment was?” I sighed wearily as I looked up at the building in front of me. It was a structure that prioritized style over practicality, a facility where even important overseas visitors would stay. So it was only natural for the government to want to showcase it.

“Yeah.” The novelist answered briefly and lightly touched the collar of her blouse to make sure it wasn’t messed up. She seemed somewhat tense. Her appointment seems to be with a person of considerable importance.

She turned to me with a serious expression, “From this point on, you are strictly prohibited from speaking. You can only answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Remain silent and walk two steps behind me. Is that clear?”

Her words were like a hammer driving a nail, and before I could even express my annoyance, she marched towards the gatekeeper. Although I didn’t like it, it was my client’s order, so I had no choice but to comply. With a click of my tongue, I followed her as instructed.

“What is your business at the guest house, madam?” asked the guard.

“I’m Bardalon Forester, a novelist. I have an appointment to see Saint Havandia as previously arranged.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. What did she just say? Who is Havandia? No, wait… Did she say saint?

“May I see your letter of confirmation?”

“Here it is.”

As the guard took the paper from the woman, their vigilant demeanor faded. “Welcome, Madam Forester. Please come inside,” said the two guards, bowing respectfully and opening the iron gate.

They then led the two of us down a path bordered by neatly trimmed trees, which led to the entrance of the reception hall.

As we walked, I turned to the novelist and asked, “Hey, what’s going on? Did you mention something about a saint earlier? Is it possible that your appointment is with…”

“Can’t you remember anything?” the novelist snapped irritably, without even looking back. “Keep your mouth shut, don’t ask anything, and don’t smoke while we’re on the premises.”

I didn’t understand the meaning of her final command at first, but after thinking for a few seconds, I clicked my tongue. She was telling me to go die indirectly.

The reception hall’s door, which marked the end of the promenade, was already open. There, waiting for us on the other side, was someone I never expected to see again—a silver-haired woman in shining armor, with a dignified beauty that left me breathless. It was my second time seeing her.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t that surprising after all. If the novelist’s appointment was with the person she had mentioned earlier, then it made sense for the Holy See’s knights to be assigned as the guards.

As soon as the female knight saw us, she politely bowed and said, “Welcome, Madam Forester.”

The novelist chuckled beside me, and the knight’s words seemed to put her at ease.

“I appreciate your willingness to meet with my lady upon her request. Will you allow me to guide you from here on out?” the female knight continued humbly.

The novelist sighed in exasperation and smiled wryly. “Ugh, please, enough with the formalities.”

The woman knight, Vilatis Knight, the leader of the 14th Division, looked up at her and relaxed her lips in response.

“I’m glad you said that. I don’t really like being so formal with you either.”

The smile she gave was so gentle, unlike her demeanor during yesterday’s briefing.

“You look well, Vilatis.”

“You too, Barda.”

The two of them spoke to each other in a friendly tone, using each other’s names. I was dumbfounded by their closeness. Barda, really?

“Wow, all those fancy words are no joke, huh? Don’t overdo it or you’ll make yourself sick.”

“A little stress can actually be good for your mind, ya know? Speaking of which, you’re looking a bit fuller lately…”

“Oh, excuse me, I think my chest just got bigger. And look at you, your shoulders are wider than before!”

“As a knight, that’s definitely a good thing.”

The novelist let out a sigh and shook her head. “You’re still tough as nails, huh?”

“I don’t think I’m as resilient as you, honestly.”

“…I was just joking, you know?”

“Well, I was serious.”

After staring at each other with straight faces for a while, the two of them suddenly burst into smiles, as if they had made a silent agreement. It was the first time I had seen her laugh so happily.

Observing their interaction, even though I, who was called a fool by those around me, could tell that they were old acquaintances. It was quite a strange sight to see the novelist and the captain of the church knights being friends, but there was something that bothered me more than that.

The fact that the novelist had a strangely feminine tone of voice.

Is there anything more bizarre than that? She, who has always maintained a grandiose masculine tone since we first met, spoke to this female knight in a way that was more like a typical woman.

Of course, that tone was probably normal in general society, but to me, who only knew the novelist’s affectations, it felt unnatural. However, her figure, laughing happily, did not seem to be acting at all, but rather felt like they were truly good friends.

Perhaps, I thought, this was her true self. Maybe that grandiose behavior of hers was just a facade. Wait, in the first place, can I even say it’s a facade in this situation?

While pondering such a pointless thing, the female knight’s gaze turned towards me. There was a faint surprise in her blue eyes.

“Ah, and who is this gentleman?”

“Oh ya! let me introduce you. He’s my hired help. His name’s…”

The novelist said gleefully and turned to me and suddenly realized something, a look of surprise on her face. Then, with a momentary blush of embarrassment, she tried to force herself back into her usual tone, “No… He is my hired servant, that is…”

It seemed like she wanted to maintain her dignified novelist persona in front of me.

Well, it’s too late for that now. I can see right through it.

Watching her behavior, the female knight, Vilatis, let out a small smile, as if understanding everything, and made no mention of her awkward correction.

I see, she knows her personality very well. She’s a good friend, indeed.

“This is the second time I’ve met you, Sword,” Vilatis said, surprising me.

I do remember answering my name at the reception desk during yesterday’s briefing. However…

“You remember me well…”

“Sitting next to such a conspicuous man, it’s hard to forget,” Vilatis said with a slightly mischievous smile.

Looking at her sly expression, I felt a chill run down my spine. I guess I had been exposed. That damn Gold had given me unnecessary impressions. Now what? I scratched my head, feeling troubled.

“Oh, look, it’s none of my business if that guy gets the Holy See’s attention, but I don’t want to be accused of anything unnecessary, so I’ll just say this. That man is sick, like a disease. What happened yesterday was just a fit, and he’s not seriously plotting to assassinate anyone.”

“You’re more thoughtful than you look.”

I snarled, trying to assert my innocence to Vilatis. It’s regrettable that I ended up defending that maniac with a personality disorder.

“However, I’ll give you some advice,” Vilatis said, her eyes sharp.

“That man’s values are dangerously unstable. Especially the nature of his killing intent is abnormal. If the balance is slightly disturbed, he will easily try to kill you too.”

As expected of the commander of the Church Knights, she has an excellent insight.

“If life is important to you, you should cut off your ties with him as a friend.”

“Thank you for your advice,” I replied with an indifferent tone.

If I could do that, I would have had a better life by now. The problem is that this relationship, or whatever it is, has twisted itself tightly around my legs like a vine.

“Hmmm… So you’ll listen to Vilatis’ advice, but you won’t listen to me,” the novelist said, glaring at me. Her tone was frightfully unpleasant.

I realized that I had been ordered not to speak on the premises.

I was getting tired of making excuses, but I reluctantly spoke up, “Wait a minute. What happened just now was beyond my control. It was the captain who spoke to me first.”

After staring at me for a while, the novelist turned her gaze to Vilatis. She heaved a sigh of resignation as she looked at the knight who shrugged her shoulders. It was a face that said she would overlook her for her sake.

“But why do you know Vilatis?” She asked me again, still puzzled.

I hesitated to answer. If I had to explain from the beginning, I would have to start about me attending the Church Knights’ selection briefing. But I didn’t want it to be known to her for some reason, as it would provide material for her to degrade me.

However, Vilatis answered the question for me, “Well, we met through work. It’s going to take a little while to explain in detail, so let’s leave it for now.”

I was relieved by the captain’s help. Indeed, for her, it was a chance encounter during work, so she wasn’t lying. The novelist still looked dissatisfied, but reluctantly gave up.

“More than anything, my lady has been looking forward to meeting you since earlier,” said Vilatis.

Following Vilatis’ words, the novelist regained her seriousness, “Well then, let’s take care of the business first.”

Vilatis nodded, “As you know, it’s forbidden by the rules to meet directly before the festival. The meeting will be held behind a veil.”

“I understand.”

“Then let me guide you to the presence of the Saint, Lady Havandia.” Vilatis pointed to the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway with the red carpet.