Chapter 162
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”If that’s the case… I’d like you to remember that our faction did warn you about the risk of public safety getting worse.”
Martina said that with a calm kind of firmness, even though she knew the lord wasn’t going to side with them in opposing the Holy Church’s hardliners. She was worried, though—if anything happened between the Church and Orlando over the search for the “Saint,” she didn’t want the blame falling on them.
I guess she wanted his promise that if the hardliners caused trouble, he’d testify that their moderate faction had been trying to stop it. It was probably her way of keeping that card in her pocket, ready to use if the chance came to drag the hardliners through the mud later.
The lord didn’t even hesitate. “Ah. Very well. I must also inform the royal family about this matter, and I will be sure to include mention of your faction in my report.”
”Thank you,” Martina said, bowing her head slightly, though it wasn’t like her eyes lit up with joy or anything.
It didn’t seem like the result she’d wanted, but at least the risk to her faction had gone down. Martina and the other moderates left the office looking satisfied enough.
Once the door closed behind them, the room grew quieter. It was just the lord, his bodyguard Mr. Badsell, Frederica, and me—still disguised as her bodyguard. Four of us, all in on this secret mess now.
Frederica didn’t waste time. She stepped right up to her father’s desk and slammed her hands on it. The loud thud echoed through the office.
”Father! Are you really okay with this!?”
”Of course it’s not ideal,” he said, voice low and steady. “But as the lord of this town, I have to take the least bad option available.”
Frederica’s voice rose—she was worried about the girls from the orphanage getting caught up in something ugly. But he didn’t flinch. And honestly, I could see his point. If they picked a fight with the Holy Church and ended up banned from using the church, this whole town would suffer. Strengthening security was the next-best move. And if it was only to prevent kidnappings or abductions by people outside the Church, they could claim it wasn’t “interference” against the hardliners.
It all depended on how far the hardliners tried to push their luck. But if things lined up right, maybe they could hold their ground.
He kept going, voice sharp now. “Besides. If we want to prevent abductions by common citizens, we could simply gather the women here ourselves and send them to receive the Church’s ritual.”
”…You mean cooperate with the hardliners?” Frederica’s tone was sharp.
”That would be the most efficient way to limit pointless harm. If we do that, the orphanage you support shouldn’t be targeted.”
Oh. So that was his angle—just help the hardliners get what they wanted quickly, then send them on their way. I could see why he’d think that.
Frederica frowned. She clearly understood the logic… but still shook her head. “But… the Holy Church’s hardliners are already suspected of having ties with the Norland family. If they get a strong connection with the ‘Saint,’ this could threaten the throne all over again.”
Wait, what? The hardliners might be connected to the Norland family?
The Norlands were the ones who tried to use Ferris during that whole “Gem Snake” incident to seize the throne. They were descended from Orlando’s older brother—the one who’d been denied the throne by the previous king.
And come to think of it, back then they hadn’t hesitated to attack even with Ms. Anju the cleric present. I remember hearing they didn’t care because she was from a different faction. If they had no problem attacking someone like her, she probably wasn’t one of them… which meant the ones with her must have been hardliners. Yeah, it all fit.
So yeah, if the Norlands and the Holy Church’s hardliners were connected, Frederica had every reason to be wary about helping them.
Still… if she knew this, the lord definitely did too. And he would never allow the Norlands to gain more influence. So…
”Of course,” the lord said, “I will mention that concern in my report as well. Whether we cooperate with the search for the ‘Saint’ will depend on the royal family’s decision.”
”I see…” Frederica murmured.
So it all came down to how the royal family responded. We needed to get word to them quickly—and get their answer just as fast. If only Ms. Sakura’s teleportation could be used right now, but she needed three days between uses… and even then she’d need coordinates for the royal capital. Which we didn’t have.
I could fly there myself, but that would mean admitting I could fly, and getting them to trust “Koji” enough to hand him sensitive intel. Yeah… not happening.
What a mess. And if the hardliners really were tied to the Norlands, asking Ms. Sakura to come forward as the “Saint” would be too risky.
Maybe… maybe Martina and the moderates could be the ones to find her? The faction who discovered the “Saint” would get close ties to her, so that would keep her away from the Norlands. If Ms. Sakura agreed, anyway.
Eventually, the meeting wrapped up. Frederica and I returned the gear we’d borrowed and headed back to her room.
”Hey… do you have any good ideas?” she asked as soon as the door shut behind us.
Ms. Mizary, her maid, was stationed outside while the two of us sat facing each other on the couch. She meant about finding the “Saint,” obviously.
”Not really,” I said.
Truth was, unless Ms. Sakura agreed, there was nothing we could do.
”…”
Frederica suddenly stood up, her heels tapping lightly on the carpet, and then settled down right beside me.
”Hey. You do have something, don’t you?”
”…Something?”
”It’s all over your face. Like you just thought of a way to actually pull this off.”
”…Eh.”
Okay. Maybe my face gave me away. It wasn’t like I meant to. It’s just… hard stuff like this gets my head spinning, so maybe a spark of hope leaked out onto my face. Whatever. I decided to bluff.
”Uh… yeah. I just thought of a way we might find the ‘Saint’ first. Then we could hand her over to the moderates.”
”Really!? How?”
She leaned in fast, eyes bright. I told her what I’d just thought of.
”You know how they said this ‘Saint’ has powers related to movement?”
”Yeah.”
”Well, I could bind the women with magic thread. If one of them escapes… that’s our ‘Saint.’”
”Ah… I see.”
She actually looked impressed. And okay, it did sound good—but if her ability was just super speed and not teleportation, she probably wouldn’t get out. Frederica probably didn’t even imagine what ignoring obstacles through teleport really meant, so she bought it.
Then her brow furrowed. “…But wait. You can’t reveal your ‘Magic Mending,’ so you’d be doing this secretly, right?”
”Right.”
”Then wouldn’t that mean women all over town suddenly freezing in place? That’d cause a panic. Even if you release them right away, copycats could start doing it for theft or assault, and then public safety would tank anyway.”
”…Ah. Yeah.”
Good point. Copycats. That would be… bad. And definitely my fault. Okay, scrap that plan.
”Yeah, that won’t work,” I admitted.
But Frederica stayed close, just watching me with narrowed eyes.
”…What?” I asked.
”You still have another plan, don’t you?”
”…Why do you think that?”
”Because you’re not disappointed. If that was your only idea, you’d look frustrated. You don’t.”
…Crap. She could read me too easily. She was right, though. I did have another idea. But I couldn’t mention Ms. Sakura here, not yet.
”…There is something,” I said at last. “But it’s still a secret. Only I can do it.”
”…”
She shifted closer, soft and slow, and pressed her chest against my arm. Her face stopped just short of mine, lips barely apart.
”Will it work?”
”I can’t say. So if you’re thinking of giving me a… reward upfront, it might be wasted.”
”Whether it works or not, being with you could never be a waste.”
Her voice was warm now, and her eyes… yeah. Heated.
She was serious.
Everyone in this mansion probably already suspected something about her body, and we could always pretend it was for gathering intel on Mose. So it wouldn’t cause a problem. Maybe.
”…Right now?” I asked.
”Right now. Nn♡”
”—mmph.”
And just like that, Frederica erased the space between us, and we stayed locked away together until dinner.
Notes:
• Frederica – The receptionist. The daughter of powerful figure in the town.
• Ferris – The representative of Silver Orchid
• Anju – The cleric from Silver Orchid.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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