"Captain Curtis!!"
I called out Captain Curtis's name loudly.
Captain Curtis collapsed to the ground with his eyes completely closed. Perhaps he had lost too much blood, his face was pale.
It's dangerous to leave it like this...
I crouched down and touched the captain's body, healing his injuries while leaving only superficial wounds so that it didn't look unnatural. Although I could awaken the Captain, I decided that it wasn't necessary right now and decided to wait for him to wake up naturally.
Still touching Captain Curtis, I turned to look at Erial.
"Erial, it's true that Captain Curtis was the one who drew his sword first, but that's going too far! No matter how much you wanted to protect the sick, that's excessive defense!" (Fia)
When I glared at him and blamed him, Erial's eyes wandered around as if he was upset.
"Oh, no, that's not it! We wanted to protect the Great Saint! That light blue knight suddenly appeared like a reincarnation of the devil, drew his sword, and came towards you, so we felt we had to protect him at all costs!!" (Arial)
"Huh? I'm not the great saint!" (Fia)
After instinctively denying it, he remembered his role and said it again.
"Ah, no, maybe I am the Great Saint. ...Why do you think so?" (Fia)
From the reactions so far, it didn't seem like Erial and the others were convinced that I was a great saint. So, I had assumed that they had not yet heard the story about her being the reincarnation of the great saint, but perhaps they already knew?
"You have the same red hair as dawn, and the moment you saw the sick people, you looked as if you understood their illness. When I saw that face, I...we were convinced that you were the Great Saint who had promised to return someday." (Arial)
With that said, Erial and all the other guards knelt down on the spot. Then, they put both hands on the ground, bowed their head as low as they could, and apologized.
"I am truly sorry! Even though you have such beautiful hair, I was so rude to you without even realising that you were the Great Saint! Please forgive us, truly!"
"There's no way I'd forgive you!"
Without a moment's hesitation, a voice of denial came.
I turned around in surprise and saw Captain Curtis, who was supposed to be in a coma, sitting up and glaring at Erial. Captain Curtis was bleeding from all over his body and his face was pale, but his eyes were different from before; they were filled with willpower.
"You have committed an unforgivable act of violence against the Most Holy Saint! Remember once more what the Most Holy Saint has done for the people of Sutherland! Once you remember, pray to God! I will send you to the other side without making you suffer." (Curtis)
As he spoke, Captain Curtis stood in a position to shield me and picked up his own sword that had fallen.
When I saw Captain Curtis holding the sword, I felt something was off.
...Who is this? It's Captain Curtis, but it isn't Captain Curtis?
Before he regained consciousness, Captain Curtis had seemed by far the weakest compared to the other Captains, but—Captain Curtis's current strength was completely unknown.
Just because you can see the bottom through clear water doesn't necessarily mean the water is shallow. It seemed to me that Captain Curtis's strength contained an unfathomable abyss.
Then, I thought back on my experiences in my previous life. In light of my past experiences, the opponents whose strength I couldn't gauge at first glance were all terrifyingly strong...
I stared at Captain Curtis closely as if to confirm, but when I realized that what was emanating from his body was murderous intent, I quickly stood up and put my hand on the Captain's arm.
"Please calm down, Captain Curtis! I know you're angry about being beaten up, but please bear with it. Look, if you behave well, your wounds will heal in no time." (Fia)
Hearing what I said, Captain Curtis looked down at me with an indescribable expression.
"...Um, I don't know where to start pointing this out." (Curtis)
"Yes?" (Fia)
"I send them to the other world because they have shown you disrespect. Even if they kill me, I will not resent their actions against me." (Curtis)
"Huh?" (Fia)
"And the reason my wounds are almost closed is because you healed them, not because I acted based on some vague standard of being a good child, correct?" (Curtis)
"…………Huh?" (Fia)
Surprised by Captain Curtis's words, I stared at him intently, and the moment our eyes met, the captain blinked twice.
"……huh?" (Fia)
——The moment I saw that gesture, I suddenly felt nervous and clutched my chest.
In contrast to my heart pounding violently, a calm voice in my head said, "That can't be."
—— "That can't be true."
—— "Stay calm."
But then I saw a familiar quirk and I didn't know what to think.
—— In my life 300 years ago, whenever his eyes met mine, he would blink twice as if he was seeing something bright. That was a habit of his that never changed.
But... but...
...Confused and desperately clinging to something, Captain Curtis looked back at me with a troubled look on his face. That downcast gaze was something I was familiar with from 300 years ago.
"...It's him, it's him, it's him."
A voice said in his mind, betraying the calm voice in my head.
As I continued to stare at Captain Curtis without blinking, the captain looked uneasy and returned the sword he was holding to its sheath. Even that gesture seemed so familiar to me.
"...It's him, it's him, it's him. ...There's no way I could mistake him for someone else."
Without any logic or basis, I was convinced of this deep in my heart, and unable to contain myself any longer, I blurted out:
"...I thought your grave was here, but...I couldn't find it." (Fia)
The voice I spoke was trembling so loud anyone could hear it.
When Captain Curtis heard what I said, he looked troubled.
"I believe a grave should be somewhere one's heart can return to. My grave is next to the Demon King's Castle. Next to the Demon King's Castle, which serves as the grave marker for my beloved master, the only one I have ever served." (Curtis)
The moment I heard those words, tears started flowing from my eyes. When Captain Curtis saw my tears, he knelt down in front of me as if he had been pushed away, and frantically moved his hands about, wondering whether he should wipe the tears from my cheeks or not, but even his somewhat comical gesture did nothing to stop my tears.
"......_KANOPUSU_" (Fia)
For the first time in 300 years, I called out that name, directly to him.
Captain Curtis had a very sad look on his face and replied clearly.
"Yes, Lady Serafina." (Curtis)
The moment I heard those words, new tears welled up in my eyes.
"Canopus, ......Canopus, ......Canopus" (Fia)
"Yes, ...yes, ...yes, I'm in front of you." (Curtis)
"Huuuuaahh.... Canopus!" (Fia)
I collapsed to the ground, covered my face with both hands, and burst into tears.
Although Canopus was flustered, he was a simple and loyal man and would never touch me unless I ordered him to. His earnestness, which had not changed even after 300 years, made me laugh even as I cried.
"Hehehe, Canopus..." (Fia)
Canopus handed me the handkerchief with all the sincerity he could muster and muttered in annoyance.
"Um, I'm sorry that it's mine, but you can use it if you'd like. If it's okay..." (Curtis)
I shook his outstretched hand with both of my hands and, with tears in my eyes, and told Canopus.
"Canopus, thank you. ...For coming back to me." (Fia)
"……yes" (Curtis)
Canopus answered with a tense, serious expression on his face.
Seeing his serious expression, I finally realized deep in my heart that he really was Canopus.
—— My earnest and loyal bodyguard.
I never thought I'd see you again...
Canopus was still wandering around me looking confused and confused, but I couldn't stop crying for a while afterwards.
...Hey, Canopus. You seem so worried but it's you who is making me cry...