"Whaaat!?" (Fia)
Surprised by Blue's sudden confession, I stood up from my chair and looked him over thoroughly.
"A curse? Ahh, what should I do? I have no idea what kind of curse has been placed on me!! Blue, it must be a really big, nasty curse!! This is the first time I've seen a curse that I don't know how to break!!" (Fia)
No matter how many times I looked at Blue, I couldn't figure out what curse had been placed on which part of it. Feeling sad about my own incompetence, I frowned and looked at Blue in a complete confusion.
Then, Blue looked around as if he was upset, and spoke in a high-pitched voice.
"Ah, yeah, yeah, maybe that's right... Umm, sorry, sorry, I am very sorry." (Blue)
Blue's face got redder and redder, so curiously I called out his name.
"Blue?" (Fia)
Blue then turned red all the way up to his neck, looked away, and continued speaking restlessly.
"...Well, what was put on me was, y-yes! It's a curse that can't be broken by a high-ranking sorcerer or a high-ranking saint, so Fia, you might not be able to break it either. It's a special curse that can only be broken by those with low abilities." (Blue)
"Huh? So there's something like that?" (Fia)
When I cried out in surprise, I heard Captain Curtis' calm voice from next to me.
"Such a curse cannot exist. Also, everyone seems to have forgotten, but a normal Saint cannot heal abnormal conditions in the first place, so no matter if she is a high-ranking Saint or a low-ranking Saint, she cannot lift the curse." (Curtis)
"Curtis?" (Fia)
Huh, Captain Curtis just said something important? I tried to think with my drunken head, but I couldn't get it all together. As I gathered my fragmented thoughts, I suddenly remembered something important and had to cover my mouth with both hands.
...That's right! Because I had used my powers as a saint in front of Green and Blue before, I felt like it was no problem to be a saint in front of them, but at the time, I explained that "I was cursed, and the power of the curse has allowed me to temporarily use my powers as a saint."
It's dangerous, it's dangerous! Right now, my curse has been lifted and I'm supposed to be unable to use my saintly powers. In other words, I'm not just a "normal saint," I'm not even a "saint"! My earlier comment, "I can't see through the curse placed on Blue," sounded like a typical saint, but everyone accepted it without pointing it out, so I didn't even realize that it was inappropriate for a saint to make such a statement.
But the fact that no one noticed something so important must mean that everyone was incredibly drunk, so it would be fine to just leave it like that, ...I thought, but just to be sure, I tried making a surprised noise.
"Oh, what's that?! It seems that my curse, which had been lifted, has temporarily resurrected due to Blue's curse! Does that mean I can use the power of the Saint as well?" (Fia)
I wondered if this statement would cover up my earlier saintly remark, so I looked around at the three of them, only to find that Green and Blue were staring at me blankly, and Captain Curtis was clutching his head as if he had a headache.
"……Curtis?" (Fia)
Wondering if I had said something wrong, I called out Captain Curtis' name timidly, and the captain shook his head slightly and let out a groan.
"Lady Fi, I was wrong. I understand that calmly pointing that out here would only cause more trouble. I see, so Lady Fi, you're trying to hide the facts that are already known, aren't you?" (Curtis)
"Huh?" (Fia)
"No, with those two, their positions would get in the way and they wouldn’t be able to talk about you so lightly. And since it seemed like you had exercised your power to the point where it was impossible to hide anything, I thought you might be planning to tell us a secret. It seems that everyone here misunderstood…I see. So, to return to the harmless topic, I was impressed by what a convenient curse the Empire has." (Curtis)
Captain Curtis was babbling about some complicated stuff, and although my drunken brain couldn't understand it all, ...only Captain Curtis' last words stuck in my mind, and I couldn't help but grin.
Hahaha, I'm not sure, but the fact that no one pointed out what I said and instead changed the subject means I managed to get away with it pretty well, don't you think?
Understanding this, I felt happy and smiled as I picked up the word "impressed" at the end of Captain Curtis' statement.
"It's amazing that Blue and Curtis are impressed! I'm so grateful for the compliment!" (Fia)
I looked at Blue with joy, but he was covering his face with his hands.
"No, Fia, that's just a subtle insult. And, Curtis, I understand that this is a rough premise, so please overlook it. ...Well, Fia, the curse that was placed on me is that, 'If I don't accompany the kingdom knight and witness her meeting her familiar, I will not be able to marry'..." (Blue)
I was surprised that Blue's voice was gradually getting quieter, but was even more surprised by what Blue was saying, and looked up at Captain Curtis sitting next to me.
"Oh my goodness! Blue's curse is almost identical to the curse I described being placed on me when we were on an adventure together before!!" (Fia)
"That's also really messy, isn't it?" (Curtis)
Hearing Captain Curtis' exasperated voice, Blue stiffened in shock and, as if giving up, removed the hands that had been covering his face.
Then, with a look of desperation, he spoke, his face bright red, and he looked a little tearful.
"Fia, all the people of the Empire, including myself, are servants of the Goddess! It brings me nothing but joy to be commanded by you and to obey, so please let me accompany you to the Blackpeak Mountain!!" (Blue)
"What?" (Fia)
Confused by the suddenness of Blue's story, I blinked rapidly.
However, Blue looked at me with an eager expression, as if he was clinging to me.
"In other words, I want you to release me from the curse by allowing me to be present when you meet your familiar! Well, well, the low-ranking sorcerers said that if the removal fails, it will backfire in a bad way, so whenever possible, I should choose to fulfill the conditions of the curse and be released, rather than relying on a sorcerer to remove the curse... that's why..." (Blue)
The initial momentum was gone, and as Blue continued speaking his voice began to get quieter and quieter again.
I tilted my head in confusion at this and began to think about what he was proposing.
"Well, Green and Blue, both of you are strong, so it would be nice if you could accompany us, but it would take three, four, or even five weeks, so I wonder if it's really okay to leave the family business to just Red for that long?" (Fia)
"No problem!!" (Green + Blue)
Without a moment's pause, two voices rose up.
I blinked rapidly as I saw Green and Blue looking at me with serious expressions. …Well, we all agreed. It looks like Green and Blue would be given an additional month of leave without Red's knowledge. Poor eldest son. And the second and third sons are free, aren't they?
While thinking like that, I was carried away by the momentum of the two and was about to reply in the affirmative when I realized that I hadn't checked the intentions of my companion, Curtis.
"R-right. In that case, I think it might be okay for you to come with me... what do you think, Curtis?" (Fia)
"If that's what you want, Lady Fi... I'll be by your side to make your wishes come true, Lady Fi." (Curtis)
"Th-thank you, Curtis." (Fia)
I thanked him, thinking how loyal he was even after 300 years, and Green and Blue also bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your decision. I will accompany you."
"Thank you, Curtis! I promise I'll be your shield to protect Fia."
Looking at the happy expressions on their faces, I thought they must have really wanted to go on an adventure. In fact, I heard that they both and the eldest son, Red, took over the family business together, but was it really okay for them to have Red working alone and take an extra month or more of vacation on their own?
These two are good people and not bad people, but maybe a little lazy.
While thinking like that, I was happy to be able to go on an adventure with the two of them again, when Green exclaimed in admiration.
"Yes, but, Fia... you really do exude greatness in every word you say." (Green)
"Huh?" (Fia)
"You've never seen a curse that you didn't know how to break! ...No, don't say any more. You're drunk, so I don't want to try to get any information out of you. But you're babbling like this because you're drunk, right? You're usually a bit more careful, right?" (Green)
Suddenly, Green's expression turned worried, but Captain Curtis bluntly dismissed him.
"Even if something were to happen, there would be no problem because I would be by her side. Lady Fi is many times more wonderful than you think. Please understand that, know your place, and do not approach her more than necessary." (Curtis)
However, when Blue heard Captain Curtis' words, he looked up as if he had been pushed away.
"I'm sorry, but that's an impossible request! What do you think Fia did for us? ...Fia turned our fate around! We were up against a monster we should never have been able to defeat, so just when we were hoping to die with pride, she appeared before us and told us to hold our heads up high! She taught us that no matter how superior our opponent is, we can win by facing forward and facing them head on!" (Blue)
"Ah……!" (Curtis)
Captain Curtis let out a groaning noise.
"And when I was with Fia, I never felt like I was going to lose. No matter what attack the monster tried to make, I was able to block it at the perfect moment, and my attacks were amazing. Even if I was injured, she healed me instantly. It was the first time I'd ever fought a monster that was so superior to me and felt like I wasn't going to lose." (Blue)
Seeing Blue speak passionately with sparkling eyes, Captain Curtis covered his face with one hand.
"Oh my goodness! Lady Fi made them feel that way in battle! That is excessive, to say the least..." (Curtis)
As if to deliver the finishing blow to Captain Curtis, who was slumping, Green now spoke.
"After defeating the monster, unlike us who were stunned and in disbelief at the magnitude of what we had accomplished, Fia was drawing water from the river with a normal look on her face. So even such a monumental event was nothing to her, and I felt trembling at the thought that she was truly a supreme being... Then, in the next moment, without any warning, she suddenly lifted the curse on me and my brother. The curse that had been placed on us since we were born, that we thought would never be lifted until we died, she did it in the blink of an eye." (Green)
After listening to Green's story, Captain Curtis covered his face with both hands, looking completely uncontrollable.
"...Ah, the more I hear about this, the more it seems like it's too late. But if there's any consolation I can take, it's that even if I had been there, I wouldn't have been able to stop it. This is something that touches the very essence of Lady Fi, so it's not something that should be stopped." (Curtis)
From beneath his covered hands, Captain Curtis uttered a groaning noise. Green nodded deeply and continued speaking slowly.
"By meeting Fia, our destiny changed. We were able to regain our pride and were allowed to move forward into the future. We were given the continuation of our lives and were allowed to create the future of the Empire." (Green)
Captain Curtis stared silently at Green, who seemed to have made up his mind about something, for a while, then he sighed as if giving up.
"...I pray that this will be a blessing for the people of the Empire. To me, the Empire is not a strange country, after all...it is the country of the person I respect the second most." (Curtis)
Captain Curtis looked up and, unusually, was choosing his words carefully and speaking in a halting manner.
Seeing that made me very happy.
"Hehe, a friend of a friend is a friend after all, right!" (Fia)
Suddenly, three pairs of wide-eyed eyes stared at me, as if surprised that I had suddenly spoken after being silent for a while.
"My friend... Lady Fi has a 'happiness filter' that causes her to interpret everything in a positive light. This conversation just seems like a friendly conversation between friends." (Curtis)
"It could be called a happiness filter… a simple filter… Ah, no, it is definitely a happiness filter. I truly respect your way of looking at things and trying to interpret them all in a positive way."
"You're the one who has a wonderful filter that makes anything related to Fia look great!"
See, see, before I knew it, the three of us were chatting happily together.
"Hehe, I'm looking forward to our journey starting tomorrow..." (Fia)
I smiled and opened my mouth, and Blue immediately replied.
"Fia, this time I'll be of use to you, okay!" (Blue)
Green nodded as if agreeing with Blue.
"That's right. I have to fulfill the role I've been given, even if it's just to a certain extent." (Fia)
Captain Curtis sighed as if giving up.
"...Lady Fi, you have always been like this. You have often been embroiled in great trouble, but the people who have always gathered around you are those who want to do something for you." (Curtis)
The night passed like that with smiles on their faces, and the next morning——the four of us who had gathered the night before, set off for the northernmost part of the kingdom, the Margrave Gazzard territory.