Chapter 141

“First of all, that bath definitely had one clear effect.”

I became immune to the countless thinly dressed Beastmen wandering around me.

It’s not about the Beastmen looking worse than Ria—it’s more of a feeling that, well, I’ve seen Ria, so seeing the others just brings that sensation to mind.

Honestly, the one I cared about most since coming to this world was Ria.

Right?

I’m not some saintly person who has those kinds of feelings. My feelings for Ria are still pretty uncertain.

But even so, I don’t think about wanting to do something with any other girl. At least around me, I hardly had anyone else on my mind besides Ria.

…..

Basically, I want the people I admire to admire me back.

To put it again, it’s not some incredibly grand thing. I don’t have those thoughts about Ria. However, that kind of feeling should be mutual; if one person looks at the other, the other should look back, right?

Straying my gaze to any woman feels a bit broken, you know? Well, those people are just wearing what’s normal for them, and the one next to me is there more because they have their own stuff to do than because I particularly want them there.

“……”

What am I thinking?

I held back a sigh. Thankfully, Maria was following behind me, so she couldn’t see my expression.

Along with me and Maria, there were others in our group. The Knight Order, ready to lend a hand in emergencies, along with Hunters we came with. Naturally, my friends were among them. Everyone seemed to sense the atmosphere, so no one spoke up.

“This way.”

One of the guides turned back with those words. They politely bowed and stood slightly away from the door.

Without me needing to open the door, the people waiting in front of it opened it themselves.

To be honest, I felt a little tense. There’s talk about the king’s sister, and above all, it’s an “exorcism.”

When I think of exorcism from where I came, I conjure up images of a child contorting in bizarre ways, acting not human at all. That’s not real exorcism footage, just a scene from a movie, but if I were to suddenly witness a real person like that, I wouldn’t know how to react.

Should I just pour my Saint Power into it?

Thinking that, I stepped forward with light in one hand.

Before I knew it, Ria had gently come out in front of me and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

We slowly followed the guides inside, but—

There were no bizarre screams or curses to be heard.

“…Ah.”

Inside was a woman with a somewhat dazed expression. She looked a few years older than the king, likely in her mid-twenties.

Her skin was a glistening bronze, and her hair was as black as the king’s. Black dog ears sprouted from her head, matching her hair color.

They perked up like a shepherd’s, the tips slightly pointy, but the impression she gave off wasn’t too sharp.

Wearing a pure white nun’s habit, she turned to look at me and stood up slowly, her hands clasped together.

Then her wide eyes shifted to a nearby Maid.

When the Maid whispered something into her ear,

“Ahhh.”

She gently nodded and turned to look at me.

“I apologize for making you travel such a long distance because of me. I heard you arrived yesterday, but I wasn’t in a good state to meet you then.”

Huh?

Oh, is that so?

Even if she’s possessed, it doesn’t mean she always appears like a ghost. People can seem perfectly fine one moment and then suddenly act strange; mental illness can also progress that way in its early stages.

To be honest, I’d like to suggest seeing a psychiatrist, but that would be problematic. After all, I’m the one who was sought out.

“Shall we sit and talk?”

The king’s sister said this, pointing towards a table. The Maid moved to the corner of the room and stood quietly waiting again.

It wasn’t just one Maid; there were about four others in the room. They were likely waiting on standby, ready to assist her if she needed anything.

Now that we’re here, I can’t really talk about human rights and such. If those people are slaves, that would be quite uncomfortable, but if we’re to assume this is inspired by ‘Egypt,’ they might just be people employed legally for a wage.

If I dig too deep into that, I’d have to question the legitimacy of all governmental jobs in our world too.

The king’s sister waited until I sat down before she took her time sitting down herself.

“I am Anna from Earth. I follow the teachings of the Church and have come to examine you as a nun.”

At my explanation, the king’s sister blinked.

“If you’re a nun, does that mean you’re something like a shaman?”

“Well, that’s a difficult question to answer.”

To be honest, I’m unsure how to respond to that. Even though it’s said to be ancient Egypt, I’ve never really heard many details about it.

If a shaman is comparable to a priest, I’m even further down the ladder.

“You could think of me as being in a position similar to the most junior members of those who guard the Temple.”

I heard the sound of armor clanking. It seems some of the church members were shifting uncomfortably.

What I said wasn’t entirely inaccurate. Nuns and monks aren’t unimportant in the Church. In a modern church, they’re not so different from ordinary citizens. Anyone can study a bit more and take an exam to become a priest, with the right to elevate to more important positions.

However, there’s really no way to explain it further, right?

“But we’ve heard that…”

Oh?

It seems that the king’s sister had heard accurate information about me. After all, in this world, the titles ‘Saint’ and ‘a person very close to the Saint’ might be nearly equivalent. They probably tried hard to explain in the way that leans towards ‘she is indeed a Saint.’

“That explanation is also correct. However, I’m not formally recognized as a Saint, and thus my position remains as it was prior.”

“Ahh.”

She nodded at that explanation.

Among royalty and nobility, there may be quite a few in such positions. They’ve joined the ranks as ‘soldiers’ but are really just there to broaden their horizons while holding ‘soldier positions,’ or even among the same officers, if royal blood runs through them, it’s practically another class altogether.

“Is that so.”

“Yes, if the illness the princess is suffering relates to Magic Power, I can heal you.”

“…But what if it’s an illness unrelated to Magic Power?”

“I’m sorry, but outside of that, I’m too removed from my area of expertise to pursue other methods.”

“I see…”

The princess sat there blankly for a moment before suddenly looking at the Maid as if she just remembered something.

The Maid had beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

“…Ah.”

The princess seemed to have temporarily forgotten and then said,

“My name is Paina. Nice to meet you.”

Oh, I see.

I hadn’t heard her name yet.

The reason the Maid had sweat rolling down her forehead was probably because the princess was standing before someone important without even saying hello.

“Nice to meet you.”

As I said that and slightly glanced at the Maid, she hurriedly bowed her head again.

**

So far, I’ve directly heard about the princess’s symptoms from her.

She has terrible nightmares and does strange things while having those nightmares. Though they’re called strange, they’re not like bending her joints in odd ways; it seems she walks around in the middle of the night without any clothes on, like a sleepwalker, or talks strangely as if her soul has left her.

…Rather than mental illness, I thought it could just be her acting.

“I’ve thought about it being acting.”

However, it seems the king has certainly considered that as well.

“But it’s not so.”

“Could you share your reasons for being so certain?”

“The sister, when she’s not her usual self, speaks knowledge that she absolutely cannot know. What do you think? Does my sister seem to you like one who is that skilled in mathematics?”

“……”

“She recites what’s written on thick scrolls as if she has it memorized, or she knows the contents of ancient scrolls deep within the library that no one cares about, or recites records written in the tomb of the great dynasty. All those subjects are things my sister doesn’t really pay much attention to on a normal basis.”

I had nothing to say to that.

If only this world had the internet, I could at least argue that she might have memorized it and is acting. But information here isn’t that easily accessed.

“Then, I’ll attempt to purify using Saint Power first.”

“I beg of you.”

The king answered as if not to expect too much.

Whether that’s genuine or just part of his show as one in authority, I’m honestly not sure.