2. The Lord is with you (33)
It took time to calm down the seniors who fell on the floor.
Senior Elsie, who was shivering, stroked her head, and Senior Delphine was at a loss as to how to calm her down.
With a trembling voice, Delphine-senpai spoke to me.
“… … Please, hurt me.”
At first, I thought Delphine was joking.
Her gaze, filled with a sense of bewilderment, turned to Delphine. However, those crimson eyes that shook violently testified to the fact that Delphine was not joking.
While I hesitated in embarrassment, Delphine asked me again.
“Boo, please… please, wherever… … .”
In the end, I had no choice but to hurt Delphine-senpai’s cheek once more.
It was a very shallow wound. A cut that heals in a matter of minutes.
As if that alone made Delphine feel relieved, her breathing quickly began to stabilize. I had to watch it with trembling eyes.
I guess I had a bad habit, but it was a big deal.
After we managed to sort things out and cleaned up the collapsed table, we decided to have a chance to have a three-way meeting.
Of course, for a while the three of us didn’t say anything.
Elsie-senpai was hesitating with her face flushed red, probably embarrassed. He fidgeted with his fingers and pushed his cone hat down as if to avoid my gaze.
That won’t make it invisible to my eyes, though.
Delphine blushed slightly and avoided her gaze while clearing her throat. It wasn’t as much as Elsie-senpai’s, but it was quite shy.
I was just ashamed. Isn’t that what he did in front of his juniors?
Is it a maid, a slave, a dog, or a cat? It was after I put all the shameful words in my mouth. The country would also have no face.
First, I let out a deep sigh. The two didn’t seem to have any intention of talking anyway, so it was because I thought I should lead the conversation.
“… … Why are you both fighting over such useless things?”
Senior Elsie had an expression of regret. She looked at me with sad eyes and appealed in a thin voice.
“Oh no… I stayed quiet, but that bitch keeps getting fed up!”
My eyes turned to Delphine. However, she just snorted and laughed, as if there was no point in answering.
The two were still on bad terms. Since I was the leader, it was also my job to improve the relationship between the two.
I decided to correct the misunderstanding of the two seniors.
“And why are you two my maids? If you have to argue, I’m your junior, so please don’t say things like that in the future.”
“… … That, though.”
Senior Elsie glanced at me to see if she was dissatisfied with something. Although the appearance was cute, my will was firm.
“Do not. At least you shouldn’t put it in your mouth.”
If so, there is a high possibility that problems will arise in many ways.
Even so, my image at the academy has been distorted for a long time. Due to unfounded rumors and interest-oriented media culture, I was a car that led to ‘a mad dog holding a hatchet and installing things’.
What if Elsie-senpai or Delphine-senpai claimed to be my maid in such a yard?
I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen. It was an issue that could even lead to friction between families. At least these conflicts should not have surfaced.
However, senior Elsie seemed to understand my words in a slightly different way.
“Yeah, yes! I won’t put it in my mouth, ehehe… … .”
I was going to say one more word to Elsie-senpai, but I stopped.
There was no one to listen to anyway. Senior Elsie was also a person with a firm view of the world of her own. In the future, I had no choice but to reset the relationship gradually.
I thought that today’s fight would end like this. I was at least relieved that the word ‘maid’ would never come out of my mouth.
Recently, it felt like my daily life had changed so drastically. In the past, I didn’t have to worry about anything like this.
It was all because of the letter. Recalling the love letter left in my arms, I looked sad.
There was no time for us to fight among ourselves in the face of Mine’s coming. I said in a low-pitched voice.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future. The monster attacking the orphanage doesn’t seem to end with a simple problem. Mine might have intervened.”
“… … Mine?”
It was the sound made by Delphine, who had been sitting there without saying anything. A voice full of questions, her brows narrowed slightly before she knew it.
It was the same with senior Elsie. She looked at me with wide eyes and a puzzled expression.
It was a story that I couldn’t believe that Mine appeared out of nowhere. I don’t know how many times today a sigh escaped from my mouth.
“Yes, there is no clear physical evidence, but there is a possibility. Mr. Guilford said that the only explanation for the magical beasts’ abnormal behavior was the existence of demons.”
“… … Ma, what if I run into a real Mine?”
Elsie-senpai looked slightly frightened. In fact, she was timid, so I could understand. To be honest, I was scared too.
Dealing with Mine while attending the academy, that feat alone would make him a legendary senior among his juniors for the next few decades.
I was silent for a while. No matter how much I thought about what to do, there was only one conclusion.
“… … We have to prioritize survival.”
These were the people I had forced to bring. Or even if they voluntarily followed them, they were not even prepared to risk their lives.
I couldn’t risk my life recklessly. If things didn’t go well, I had to do something on my own.
In a slightly heavy atmosphere, I got up again.
I had to share this with everyone. If it hadn’t been for the voice that caught me as I was about to move so quickly, I would have left the restaurant.
“… … So what’s the verdict?”
My eyes wandered to the source of the sound. It was Delphine senior.
She blushed slightly and lowered her vision slightly. she asked again in an awkward voice.
“Who is more useful, me or Rinella?”
“… … Does that bother you that much?”
“Of course, I am Delphine Yurdina. The game is not over until the winner is decided.”
Although he gave an expression of boredom, Delphine’s will was not broken. Rather, it was to the point of sending me eyes that were blatantly expecting.
It was the same with senior Elsie. She pretended not to be interested, but glanced at me.
His eyes were a mix of anticipation and worry. “No,” I said with a groan.
“… … Let’s talk about that after practice.”
It was an inevitable choice because right now my head was full just by the presence of Majin.
With those words, Elsie and Delphine’s eyes met again in the air, and after that, the two seniors worked on chores without saying anything.
No matter how much I thought about it, it was a story that I couldn’t figure out.
Is it that important, maid position?
It was a very strange world.
**
That night, there was a little special training.
Knives collided with knives. Blue sparks flew in the air and flickered in the darkness of my vision. A sharp crashing sound rang in my ears.
My opponent was an old prosecutor. His name is Guilford, with impressive gray hair, he was the director of an orphanage and a mercenary who had once been a sword expert.
Of course he was stronger than me. No matter how many times I bumped my knives, I could tell.
The skill was different, and the technique was different. And above all, he couldn’t keep up with his strange swordsmanship.
Taking a step back, I took a deep breath and thrust out my sword.
It was a pioneer like a beam of light. The imaginary trajectory drawn in front of my eyes testified to the fact that Mr. Guilford was rushing by.
My heightened senses have never lied to me. It was the same even now.
However, even though I swung the sword first, Mr. Guilford’s sword was touching my throat before I knew it.
The movement felt like a hallucination. While I was raising my sword, the technique that rotated my body as if it were natural to let go of the first attack and burrow into my arms.
“It’s called diffraction.”
Mr. Gilford said that while wiping his sweat with the handkerchief he had prepared. I gasped and opened the lid of the canteen.
Cool water poured down my esophagus, and I felt better. My gaze returned to Mr. Guilford.
“It’s a skill I learned from a short relationship in my youth. It is quite difficult to master.”
“… … It looks like it.”
It was a skill to cross the road to the underworld, not the opponent. In order to use it to a level where it can be used freely in actual combat, an enormous amount of practice would have to be supported.
No, it might not have been a problem with the amount of practice. More than that, mental strength was important.
It was not the kind of mindset that living beings could have, the resolution that it would be okay to be stabbed to death.
“It is not a technology that anyone can use. I also knew a little bit about the tricks of this technique only after I was about to die. Just let yourself go.”
“… … Are you letting yourself go?”
“Yes, only then can you overcome your instincts. haha… It’s hard to put into words. I’ll let you know a little bit if you’re interested.”
I put on a dumbfounded expression for a moment at the unexpected offer.
In fact, tonight’s sparring was held at the request of Mr. Guilford. With a desire to repay the help he had received in the past, he decided to watch my training.
Mr. Gilford is higher in level than I am, but he has more experience. Of course, I had no reason to refuse, and I gladly accepted it.
However, it was too much to try to teach technology in addition to that. My head was quickly shaken.
“No, no matter how much… … .”
“For a few hundred gold, you can save dozens of children.”
It was Mr. Guilford’s calm voice. Hundreds of gold seemed to mean the cost of the demon corpse I defeated.
“It is the price of life. Please accept it.”
Having said that, I couldn’t resist any longer. I finally accepted Mr. Guilford’s offer with a wry smile.
The only thing I had overlooked was that Mr. Gilford was a surprisingly strict teacher.
“again!”
“It’s not that attitude. Then, if even the head is pierced, won’t the underworld resent me?”
“A monkey would do better than that, young master. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself as a human being?”
Truly, a mercenary was a mercenary. I was released only after repeating the practice until my mouth smelled sweet.
My body was limp with fatigue. I stumbled and headed for the inn.
Leto was already asleep, and Yuren had left for the city, so I was the only one who couldn’t sleep. It was a very pitiful situation.
Recently, I felt a sharp pain in my back, probably because of excessive exertion. I thought I was cured with the healing potion, but it seemed to be a little lacking.
It was when I was walking like that.
Suddenly, a landscape was engraved in my field of vision.
It was a god statue located in the corner of the orphanage’s yard. A cheap stone statue that can be found anywhere supported by the Holy Kingdom.
A saintess was praying in front of him.
It was a scene where the word ‘saint’ came out naturally.
The silvery hair that glowed softly in the moonlight, and the radiant features that were more like works of art than the statue of God, stood out.
It was a presence that overwhelms the scenery.
At once, the landscape painting is transformed into a portrait painting. I forgot the language for a while. I looked at her for a long time without saying anything.
The woman’s eyes slowly opened. The light pink paint that tickles the chest was applied to the portrait.
“… … That’s rare. Do people like you know how to pray?”
Though the sentiment was shattered at once by that sullen voice.
As if I had finally come to my senses, I laughed and shook my head.
“I am not faithful enough to pray at dawn. Rather, the saintess was a saintess.”
“Then you thought it wasn’t?”
It was a blunt tone. Recently, my relationship with her has always been like this, so I didn’t feel particularly bad.
I shook my hand and decided to leave. And the saintess also snorted and tried to look away from me.
If only I hadn’t suddenly felt a hot, wet touch on my back.
oh why are you doing this
The moment she had such a thought, the saintess’ eyes were already wide open. She stuttered and pursed her lips.
“Blood, blood, blood… … !”
I turned my arms behind my back with a puzzled look. Then, blood dripped from his hands.
My mouth fell silent in bewilderment. Soon, until the clear voice of the saintess shook the orphanage at night.
“… … It bleeds!!”
It was a big deal. I got caught by the person I wanted to be caught the most.
I had to break out in a cold sweat just imagining how nagging I would hear.
The night was still far away.