Afterwards, the saints showed us around the villa.
Dorothee showed us around the main locations within the villa, and the other saints accompanied us and provided additional explanations.
Although the saints might appear harsh on the surface, I thought they were actually kind.
As I was thinking that, walking hand in hand with Charlotte, Priscilla glared at me.
"Do you two get along?"
"Yes, that's right. Charlotte has lived away from her family since she was little, so I'm not only her friend, I'm also her mother figure."
When I puffed out my chest like that, Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise.
"Fia is only 15 years old. There's no way you could be my mother! I'm turning 8 today, so... well, if Fia doesn't mind, maybe you could be my older sister?"
Charlotte was as considerate as ever, but what surprised me more was the information that today was her birthday.
"Oh, it's Charlotte's birthday today? Oh my, I need to hurry up and get a present for you!"
As I was thinking in my head about what would be best, Charlotte smiled.
"I don't need anything more than the fact that I got to see Fia's face. After all, if Fia is my sister, then I'm a luxury to be able to see my family on my birthday."
"Cha-Charlotte!" (Fia)
I wondered why this kid was such a good kid.
If I'm your sister, then I have to give you an even more special present!
Just as I was thinking about what would be best, my eyes met with Priscilla, who was looking my way.
Oh no, I was in the middle of a conversation.
I just answered a question about whether Charlotte and I get along, so maybe I should ask the same thing next.
"Does Saint Priscilla have any close friends in the cathedral?" (Fia)
Even though my question had been carefully thought out, for some reason Priscilla's cheeks turned red.
"I don't need any fancy things like friends!"
"Fancy... Well, if friends are fancy, then I guess I'm just an ornament to Charlotte." (Fia)
Priscilla muttered to herself, thinking that she had some interesting ideas, and Lloyd, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, joined in.
"In that case, I, as Fia's friend, am also an ornament to Fia. I look good, so I want you to wear it all the time." (Lloyd)
"Hmm, I wonder if it's a good idea to say something like that yourself." (Fia)
Lloyd had such beautiful features that when I complimented his appearance it didn't sound like a joke. That kind of response was not very good for a clown.
That's what I thought, but then I thought maybe I was in duke mode at the moment.
Then I wondered who else my friend might have worn besides Charlotte...Zavilia, Captain Cyril...and then I thought, that would be too flashy to wear as jewelry, so I stopped thinking.
Now, I took my thoughts away from my friend and decided that since Priscilla had taken the time to talk to me, I shouldn't miss this opportunity, so I decided to try to find common topics to talk about so that we could become closer.
"Saint Priscilla was a powerful saint who lived in the cathedral, right? I'd like to hear your story, if you don't mind." (Fia)
Charlotte's face lights up and she readily agreed.
"I want to know too! I heard that you're the leading candidate for Chief Saint, so I wanted to learn a lot about you." (Charlotte)
Priscilla blushed as Charlotte looked up at her with expectant eyes, so it seemed she wasn't completely opposed.
Having just finished our tour of the villa, we returned to the main hall and decided to sit around the large table and chatted.
The other saints sat nearby, and I was happy that we were all going to have time to talk about the saints.
Priscilla, facing the attention of everyone, brushed her hair back with an air of grandeur and clasped her fingers together on the table.
Then, looking around at everyone, she spoke.
"I was found to be a saint when I was three years old. I first lived in a church near my hometown, but when I turned seven, I was called to the cathedral."
Lloyd, who was sitting behind me, added with a smile.
"Sainthood tests are conducted at the ages of three and ten, but most saints are certified as saints at the age of ten. Only saints with strong magical powers are certified as saints at the age of three, so there aren't many of them."
Hearing this explanation, I remembered Charlotte saying that she had been recognized as a saint during the sainthood test at the age of three.
In other words, Charlotte was able to sense magical powers from a young age, and was likely a powerful saint.
As I nodded, Lloyd continued explaining.
"Then, the ones who are gathered at the Cathedral are the Saints with the strongest magical powers in the country. The best Saints from our country are gathered there, but even if you combine them all together, there are less than 50 of them." (Lloyd)
Hearing Lloyd's words, Priscilla had a proud look on her face.
"The Cathedral's Saints are replaced frequently. Because that place requires high abilities, some do not meet the expectations. Saints who lack the ability are removed from the Cathedral and newly certified promising Saints are invited in instead."
The Saints had been listening in silence, but the moment Priscilla stopped speaking, they grimaced in displeasure.
Then, one Saint spoke on behalf of everyone.
"You should stop talking like that! The Cathedral also has the role of distributing capable Saints to the regions, so the reason a Saint leaves the Cathedral can't just be because she has low abilities!!"
After being refuted in such a harsh tone, Priscilla brushed her hair back in annoyance.
"Ah, I wonder if among these there is a Saint who has been transferred from the Cathedral? ...Well, now that you mention it, the amount of magical power may not be the only reason someone is sent out from the Cathedral. But I can say this much. The Cathedral would never let out a powerful Saint who they don't want to let go!"
"Wh-what?!"
"But that doesn't mean you're a powerful saint!!"
Seeing the Saints suddenly began arguing noisily, I tilted my head, wondering if this was within the scope of an exchange of opinions.
There's nothing wrong with being proud of being a saint or believing in one's own abilities, so maybe we should leave her alone for a while.
However, it seemed like Priscilla might be at a disadvantage because of the way she phrased it... While I was worrying about this, Lloyd tugged on my sleeve.
Then he whispered softly.
"Fia, if you want to mediate, why don't you talk about your meat tour with Desmond? In situations like this, a good way to change the subject is to talk about something completely different." (Lloyd)
Well, I wondered how Lloyd knows about the Meat Tour.
I was surprised, but I waved his hand happily, so I realized that, since Lloyd was a duke, he was an expert at gathering information.
Then, thinking that Lloyd's suggestion might be spot on, I tried speaking in a cheerful voice as advised.
"Oh, speaking of cathedrals, they're in the Kingdom of Dithal, right? As soon as the Chief Saint selection meeting is over, I'm planning to go to that country with Captain Desmond to eat some meat." (Fia)
So, I wanted them to tell me about some good restaurants in the Kingdom of Dithal. As I was about to continue, a saint interrupted me.
"You say Captain Desmond? He is the second knight in charge of guarding the royal castle! What business would he have gone to the cathedral on?!"
"More specifically, what do you mean by 'after the Chief Saint selection is over'? Are you going to report something to the Cathedral after the selection is over?"
No, I was just going to eat meat, so I wouldn't go near the cathedral... Just as I was thinking this, I suddenly closed my mouth.
Oh, wait a minute.
Come to think of it, the meat tour Captain Desmond invited us on was too good to be true, with the Knights even covering our travel expenses to the Holy Country for some reason.
I wonder if Captain Desmond was planning to do some knight work in that country after this meat tour.
I also just remembered that Captain Desmond told me he had gotten permission from Captain Cyril to join the meat tour.
I had to take the trouble to get permission from the Captain of the Knights I belong to, so I wondered if it really did have to do with work for the Knights.
If that's the case, if I said something inappropriate here, Captain Cyril might say something like, "So the main thing is the meat tour, and you're doing work for the Knights on the side. In that case, there's no need for the Knights to cover your travel expenses."
If that happened, Captain Desmond would definitely complain!
Okay, I'll play it safe and keep quiet, I thought, being the careful person I was, so I just gave an ambiguous smile.
The Saints all glared at me, so I thought to myself with a grin… Ah, maybe my plan to change the topic worked.
Great, thanks to my brilliant technique for changing the subject, it looked like everyone's catching on to the new topic.
Just as I was feeling happy, I remembered that I had still been asking Captain Desmond why I was going to the Holy Kingdom with him.
Therefore, in order to build friendly relations with the saints, I opened my mouth with a smile, trying to answer all the questions I could answer――and in so doing, I left out the main reason for visiting the Holy Kingdom, giving me plenty of excuses to make at a later date, so you could say I was growing day by day.
"Well, earlier I was asked why I was going to the Holy Kingdom with Captain Desmond, but it was to eat meat in that country. Therefore, it is not actually related to business. In the sense that it is unrelated to business, Captain Enoch is also planning to accompany me." (Fia)
I mentioned Captain Enoch's name to reinforce the point that there was no point in going to the Holy Kingdom with Captain Desmond, but the saints just frowned even more.
"The captain of the second Knight, 'Tiger of the Kingdom,' and the captain of the third mage, a genius magician, are going to be your bodyguards!?"
Wait, Captain Enoch was called a genius?
That was a shocking revelation, but let's not get sidetracked.
"Bodyguard? Uh, well, it's true that I may be weaker, but if push comes to shove, I could protect the two of them...or maybe not." (Fia)
A knight who held the title of captain was a very strong knight.
So, there's no doubt that the two of them are strong, but I was also just a knight... Just as I was thinking this, one of the saints spoke up in a sharp voice.
"Who the hell are you with that much red hair?"
"Huh, me?"
Of course I was a knight, but... thinking about it, I remembered that recently I desperately tried to convince Commander Savis that I was a knight.
Therefore, I decided to use the words I used at that time.
"I'm just an ordinary knight, very honest and helpful!" (Fia)
However, seeing the reaction of the saints when they heard what I had to say, I inadvertently recalled the reaction of Commander Savis and the other captains the other day.
...That's right. At that time too, everyone there just stared at me in silence and didn't say a word.
Similarly, today, as always, the Saints all remained silent, gazing at me.
Author's Note
...