Chapter 23

“Greedy… shameless… Why would you say something so cruel?”

As she spoke, the girl lowered her head for a moment, but when she looked up again, tears had welled in her eyes and her hands were clasped even more tightly together. Seeing those tears, the surrounding soldiers and elderly women all glared at Princess Kana, but naturally, the princess was not intimidated in the slightest.

“Because it is only natural. We are in a hurry to reach our destination, yet we still exterminated the magical beasts that entered this town and purified the mana pool that spawned them. And despite that, instead of even thanking us, thou came demanding that we have not done enough and must work more. If that is not greed, then what wouldst thou call it?”

At the princess’s exasperated words, even the townspeople who had been watching the girl admiringly until then began murmuring that, when put that way, she did have a point.

“Th-the mayor already thanked the extermination commander! And I wasn’t demanding anything. I was sincerely asking…”

“That is precisely what makes thee shameless. Thou merely sayest the word ‘please,’ without even realizing that the thanks and all the actual work are being pushed onto others. Is that not so, Burley? If magical beasts vanished merely because someone ‘asked nicely,’ life would certainly be easy.”

The princess laughed and added that people like this were especially troublesome because they often behaved as though “the credit belongs to me because I was the one who asked.”

“Indeed.”

Suppressing a laugh, the extermination commander agreed and took over the conversation.

“Besides, my lady, I’m afraid we are acting under direct orders from Her Majesty and His Highness. It is only proper that those orders take precedence.”

But the girl was clearly not someone who could be persuaded by reason, and instead became increasingly determined to force through her own convenience disguised as “good intentions.”

“Are you saying that because you have royal orders, it’s fine to abandon people suffering right in front of you? That’s horrible! And how can you look at injured people and feel nothing? Are you really a Saintess?!”

Thoroughly fed up with the girl imposing her own assumption that “a Saintess should save every injured person” and throwing words at her as though testing her conscience, Princess Kana happened to notice several townspeople carrying water drawn from a well, so she pointed toward them and said,

“Girl, if thou truly wishest so badly to help those suffering before thee, why not do a little work thyself? Standing there in fine clothes accomplishes nothing. Look there—thou couldst at least carry some water.”

Naturally, that response was far from what the girl wanted to hear, and it only made her angrier as she snapped back at the princess.

“That sort of work is not something a noble lady does! And I’m saying that you’re using your ‘royal orders’ as an excuse not to fulfill your duty as the Saintess. Don’t change the subject!”

“Thou art the one changing the subject. As I already said, I purified the mana pool, and Burley and his men exterminated the magical beasts. Yet despite that, thou claimest we have failed in our duty.”

Princess Kana spoke slowly, as though explaining something to a small child, while deliberately raising her voice so the townspeople watching from nearby could hear as well. Then she smoothly lifted one hand and pointed into the distance.

“Far from here, many people are suffering even now, though thou canst not see them. Thou art the one fixated upon what benefits thee directly. After all, thou canst calmly say that places in far worse condition than this may be left until later simply because thou canst not see them.”

“I never said anything like that!”

Desperate to maintain her position as the “good person,” the girl vehemently denied the princess’s words, but by then even the soldiers who had accompanied her, let alone the townspeople, were looking at her as though she were something suspicious. And then—

“That is enough, Bernetta! This is beyond disgraceful!”

At that moment, an angry shout rang out from behind Princess Kana.

When the princess turned, she saw a tall man with dark-brown hair and gray eyes hurrying toward them alongside a woman whose features closely resembled his.

“Brother Ashton… Even Sister Audra…”

From the girl’s mutter, Princess Kana understood that the two were her elder brother and sister.

(For sisters, they have remarkably different airs about them…)

When the pair reached Princess Kana and Burley, they grabbed Bernetta and the elderly woman beside her by the arms and pulled them backward before bowing deeply.

“I presume you are Commander Burley of the extermination force. My name is Ashton, acting head of House Owsley. Despite your urgent journey, you devoted your efforts to exterminating the magical beasts in our territory and purifying the mana pool. You have our deepest gratitude.”

After saying that much, the man glared at the girl and elderly woman he had pulled back, then turned once more toward the princess and the others and bowed.

“Despite that, it appears my younger sister spoke to you with considerable disrespect. I sincerely apologize.”

“My name is Audra. It seems she has caused this lady considerable trouble as well. Truly, I hardly know how we can apologize enough…”

The two apologized together.

Thinking that there were at least some people here capable of holding a reasonable conversation, the princess first decided to confirm something and asked the man,

“Before that, I have one question. There is a man who looks very much like that girl, is there not? Is he also thy sibling?”

“If you mean someone resembling Bernetta, then I expect you are referring to her twin brother, Bryne. Did my younger brother perhaps do something as well…?”

Hearing that they were twins, Princess Kana nodded in understanding.

“A little while ago. He interfered with the purification of a mana pool, so I had him tied up with the others. The cold and numbness will persist for a while, but he will not die.”

She briefly explained what had happened. Hearing it, the elder brother and sister exchanged bitter expressions and bowed together for a third time.

“If you say purification, then this lady must be the Saintess.”

““We sincerely apologize yet again…””

“Very well. My name is Kana. I accept thy apologies. However, the behavior of those younger siblings was so deeply unpleasant that from this day forth, thou shalt never bring either of them anywhere within my sight. See that thou rememberest.”

Everyone present understood that this amounted not merely to barring them from royal events such as the forthcoming coronation, but effectively telling them never to come to the royal palace at all. Even so, Ashton accepted the command immediately.

“…Understood. I shall make certain of it.”

“Brother! But then…”

Bernetta cried out, but one glare from her brother forced her into silence. Instead, she glared bitterly at the princess.

(Hmph. So this is her true nature after all.)

“Princess, shall I freeze that one too?”

“Or shall I slice her apart?”

The girl’s attitude finally prompted the white foxes, who had remained silent until then, to openly voice their displeasure together.

“A petty creature like that is not worth either of thee lifting a paw. Leave her be. However, if thou seest her again, do as thou pleasest.”

At the princess’s words, the white foxes looked at each other and grinned.

““Then we shall wait until next time.””

Burley sensed something slightly ominous in Suō and Kaō’s behavior and felt a little sorry for the twins, but reasoned that there would be no problem as long as they simply behaved themselves. He therefore settled for giving their elder siblings one final warning.

“Lord Owsley. We raised a signal fire at the place where your younger brother is being held, so if you follow the smoke, you should find him quickly. Also, we will pass through this territory again on our return to the royal capital. At that time, we do intend to purify mana pools within your lands, but not ‘all’ of them—only those beyond your ability to handle yourselves. I ask that you understand our priorities are the royal order and the severity of the damage.”

“I understand.”

“Girl. The lady of Clutchfield personally cooked meals for soldiers and commoners and changed her own child’s swaddling cloths. To my eyes, she was far more beautiful than thee, no matter how finely thou art dressed.”

“Indeed. That lady was a woman overflowing with compassion. She could truly be called a Holy Mother.”

The members of the extermination force agreed with Princess Kana, but the girl remained sullen and did not even respond.

“Now then, we have wasted enough time. Let us hurry.”

After promising the reasonable elder siblings that they would visit again later, the princess and her party departed.

The remainder of the journey proceeded without trouble, and roughly four hours later, the territorial capital of Edgerton, their destination, came into view.

Along the way, judging from what they could see from above, the damage was not as severe as in Clutchfield, but villages and fields had still been ravaged, and the carcasses of livestock apparently killed in attacks lay scattered everywhere.

However, the soldiers fighting beside the defensive wall appeared comparatively energetic, and Princess Kana also noticed that the wall itself differed somewhat from the ones she had seen before.

Rows of sharpened iron spears had been installed along the top.

(They rather resemble anti-climbing spikes.)

When she asked Burley about them, he explained that large insect-type magical beasts frequently appeared in this region. Moreover, the iron spears could be removed, and oil was stored inside their tips.

Therefore, when a magical beast crawled up the defensive wall and tried to cross the spears, the defenders would ignite the oil using a special tool or fire magic, then knock the beast back to the ground together with the burning spear. For good measure, they would then drop additional ignited iron spears on top of it.

“Many insect-type magical beasts are venomous, so this is a method devised to kill them with as little direct contact as possible.”

(Now that I think of it, that illustrated encyclopedia also depicted things like enormous spiders and centipedes.)

Remembering the illustrations in the encyclopedia as Burley explained the method with obvious admiration, Princess Kana nodded in understanding. She certainly had no desire to approach enormous venomous spiders or centipedes either.

Therefore, deciding to eliminate the source first, Princess Kana instructed Suō and Burley’s group to notify the territorial lord of their arrival and join the fighting. She herself climbed still higher into the sky, quickly identified the largest mana pool, and decided to begin there.

“Kaō, thou mayest be tired, but I shall rely on thee.”

“At once, Princess!”

First, Kaō surrounded the mana pool with walls of ice. Then,

(For one this large, this will be faster.)

She took out the Ame no Makako Bow and Ame no Habaya. After fitting a yugake glove and thumb guard onto her right hand, she took her stance with the bow and began chanting Marishiten’s mantra.

“On Marishiei Sowaka, On Marishiei Sowaka.”

Still chanting, she raised the bow and drew the string.

“On Marishiei Sowaka!”

The instant she spoke the mantra for the third time, she released the arrow straight toward the center!

(How did things end up like this?)

Bryne thought while soaking in a hot bath. Although he should have warmed up sufficiently by now, the chill deep in his body refused to disappear, leaving him unable to climb out despite having been in the water for quite some time.

Early that morning, when a messenger arrived reporting the appearance of a new mana pool, Bryne happened to be present and thought it was his chance.

He believed that if he dealt with the situation successfully before word reached his elder brother, he could finally obtain a recommendation letter for entry into the knight order. To join the knights, one either had to pass the entrance examination or obtain a recommendation from a territorial lord or that lord’s representative.

Bryne believed his own ability was more than sufficient to succeed as a knight, but he had no desire to do something so undignified as taking the entrance exam alongside commoners.

Yet no matter how many times he asked, his brother always told him, “If you want to become a knight, then pass the entrance examination,” and refused to write him a recommendation. That was despite the fact that not a single soldier in the territory could defeat Bryne in a mock battle.

(But now Brother will have no choice but to write one. And even if Brother refuses, Father surely will!)

With that thought, he immediately took action.

He told the messenger that he would inform his brother personally, then gathered soldiers and magicians with whom he was friendly and headed for the mana pool himself.

Annoyingly, Bernetta came along as well, but he sent her toward the town because it was dangerous and proceeded confidently toward the mana pool. The result, however, had been an utter disaster.

(Damn it! If that woman in those ridiculous clothes hadn’t interfered, by now I would have… And she was the Saintess?! How could an insolent woman like that possibly be a Saintess?! Worse, apparently she said my face was so unpleasant that I was never to appear before her again. How dare she mock me!)

In a fit of anger, he slammed both fists into the bathwater, only for hot water to splash across his face and head and make him even more irritated. Still, he could not stop. He struck the surface again and again, soaking everything around the bath before finally lowering his hands.

“Hey! Add more hot water!”

He ordered the attendant nearby, then sank deeper into the replenished bath. His mind was entirely occupied with finding some way to humiliate that Saintess.

(Still, that fox of hers was incredible. If I stole it, that woman would be furious. And if I could tame it properly, I’d become the only knight in the entire kingdom who could ride through the sky! How could I get my hands on it…? She said they’d stop here again on their way back. Then I need to come up with a plan before that…)