"Many people have been affected by yellow spot disease over the past 300 years, but all of them have been cured with a miracle drug." (Sariella)
Sariella bit her lip and continued speaking with a painful look on her face.
"...But for some reason, this time, the cure didn't work. So, this disease may not be yellow spot disease. Or, maybe... I've made a mistake with the ingredients or the manufacturing method." (Sariella)
Having said that, Sariella choked up. She looked so distressed that I couldn't help but speak up to reassure her.
"No, Sariella. There's nothing wrong with your medicine. ...It seems that the disease has mutated over the years." (Fia)
Upon hearing what I said, Sariella looked up in surprise and grabbed my hand with both hers.
"Is that true? Is it not because I made a mistake that everyone is suffering? Ah, Great Saint, thank you for letting me know!" (Sariella)
Saying this, Sariella turned her attention to the corridor opposite the entrance through which we had come in.
"This is a graveyard for the sick. This disease can never be cured. Hundreds of our comrades have already died, and those who have passed away are being returned to the sea through that passage... that passage leads to the sea, so we are returning them to the sea from there. We cannot return them to their homes, as we cannot allow the disease to spread from the corpses to others." (Sariella)
Sariella, who had been clutching her chest tightly, suddenly relaxed her expression and tears began to flow.
"Oh, I'm grateful that the Great Saint came. I didn't know what to do for a long time. Being a Saint was painful. The Great Saint said that the disease had mutated, but I don't even know if that's true. There's nothing more I can do..." (Sariella)
As she looked at me pleadingly, I took a step forward.
I understood Sariella's feelings all too well. How sad that, being a saint, she was unable to heal the sick person in front of her. If there's anything I can do...
However, Canopus stood in my way, blocking my progress, and I was unable to go any further. I wondered why he was standing in such a place, and when I glanced up at Canopus, he looked back at me with a straight face.
"Lady Fi. ...Until now, I had intended to annihilate the rude residents here, and thus annihilate your secret information, but...if you have decided to let them live, then, as a precaution, I will call you Lady Fi." (Curtis/Canopus)
"Wait, how rude... annihilate..." (Fia)
I was about to argue against what he said, because it was such a shocking story, but I thought it would be too risky to talk about it in front of everyone, so I decided to put off continuing the conversation.
...Actually, conversations with Canopus tend to be about procrastination a lot. Was he really such an unreasonable knight in so many ways?
With that in mind, I decided to hold back what I wanted to say and go along with what Canopus, or rather Captain Curtis, wanted to move the conversation forward.
"...I understand. In that case, I will call you 'Captain Curtis' just to be on the safe side, okay?" (Fia)
However, Captain Curtis disagreed with what I said.
"No need to call me Captain. Please call me Curtis. And please stop trying to be polite." (Curtis/Canopus)
"No, no, as a mere knight, I can't do that!" (Fia)
After instinctively arguing, I let out a small sigh.
...Seriously, we're stopping all the time and the conversation isn't progressing at all! Plus, you have no common sense to begin with. You have no understanding of positions!
I glared at Captain Curtis in exasperation, but the captain quietly met my gaze and nodded calmly.
"In that case, I will resign from my position as Captain and be officially called Curtis..." (Curtis/Canopus)
"Curtis! Yes, Curtis, what is it?!" (Fia)
The solution presented was so extreme that I instinctively interrupted Captain Curtis.
...Yees, I'll do it! I'm sure Captain Curtis will really do it!
When I called him by his name without any title, he looked at me as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and then he nodded as if satisfied.
"That is very good.... What I wanted to say is, have you got your priorities correct? Are there any conflicts between what you are about to do and your current reasons for becoming a knight?" (Curtis/Canopus)
"...and I haven't gotten it yet." (Fia)
After thinking for a moment, I conceded defeat at the accuracy and calmness of Captain Curtis's words.
...That's right. If the Demon King's right-hand man found out that I had been reborn as a saint, he would kill me.
From my actions so far, I knew that even if I used healing magic without using spirits, there's little chance that the Demon King's right-hand man would find out. So, even if I were to heal the residents here, I wouldn't be using spirits, so the Demon King's right-hand man probably wouldn't find out, but he'd definitely recognize me as a real saint. If I did that, I would end up being promoted in various ways, I would stand out a lot, and in some cases, I might be asked to control spirits, ...Yeah, it's only a matter of time before you're found out. Be careful, be careful.
I was so distracted by the current illness that I almost lost sight of the bigger picture. If I died, I wouldn't be able to help people when they asked for help like this anymore.
While thinking that, on the other hand, I found it painful that I could not be honest with Sariella, who was trying seriously to fulfill her role as a saint.
I let out a small sigh and glanced up at Captain Curtis.
...Come to think of it, I haven't told Captain Curtis anything yet, but maybe it's best not to talk about the Demon King's right-hand man? You may know that I died in the Demon King's Castle, but you probably don't know about the Demon King's right-hand man, so there's no need to worry me, right? If he hears my story, Captain Curtis will offer to protect me and will probably leave this place and follow me, right? ...Yeah, let's not go ahead. I'm not in any immediate danger.
While thinking like that, I realized that I should hurry up and make some healing potions for the residents here. If there's a problem with directly healing with magic, then I could heal indirectly with potions.
"Okay, now I know exactly what I need to do," I thought to myself as I nodded to myself, when my eyes met with Captain Curtis.
"...If you need new ingredients for the miracle cure, I can go and get them for you..." (Curtis/Canopus)
When I heard Captain Curtis's troubled muttering words, my eyes widened in shock.
Well, he's still frighteningly efficient! Even though I hadn't said what I wanted to do, he predicted what I wanted to do and volunteered to carry it out.
...But wait a second. Where did that comment from Captain Curtis come from?
I tilted my head and glanced up at Captain Curtis.
If Captain Curtis knew that I had the power of the Saint, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had said something like, "Please quickly heal with recovery magic," but instead, he stopped me just now when I was about to do so. Do you know that I try to hide the fact that I am a saint? You don't know anything about the Demon King's right hand man?
In the first place, wasn't it prudent of you to call me by a name that sounds like it's from this life instead of my name from my previous life? Hey, I wonder what Captain Curtis knows?
I was curious, so I asked in a low voice so the people around me couldn't hear.
"Hey, Curtis. Do you know that I want to hide the fact that I'm a Saint?" (Fia)
"...I have memories of living as a Curtis. I know that you spent your time as a knight and hid the fact that you were a saint. I understand that it is my role to do my best to support your wishes." (Curtis/Canopus)
Well, he was a truly excellent and capable knight. And a little too loyal.
"Well, haven't you become a bit harsh? Before, if I was wrong, you would try to correct me. And in order to judge the rightness of an action, you need to understand the reason behind it. So, I think you should first ask me why you are hiding the fact that you are a Saint." (Curtis/Canopus)
I thought that following what I said without understanding the reason was just blind obedience, so I tried to give Captain Curtis some advice.
However, when Captain Curtis heard what I said, he frowned in confusion.
"...Lady Fi, please remember well. Even in my previous life, I never asked you anything directly unless it was absolutely necessary. It would be a burden to you to do so." (Curtis/Canopus)
"Huh?" (Fia)
...Now that you mention it, I guess that does seem to be true. Hmm, if that's the case, how did Canopus get his information? I had the impression that he knew more about me than I did.
As I tilted my head, Canopus answered with a straight face.
"By serving at your side and gathering information from the surrounding area, I have come to understand you better. Therefore, I would like to continue serving at your side in the future as well." (Curtis/Canopus)
"………………" (Fia)
I wonder if that only applies while I'm here at Sutherland?
Oh, I don't need to mention the Demon King's right-hand man to get you to stick around, do I? In the first place, it was 300 years ago that he was my guardian knight, and the current Captain Curtis was a completely different person.
…Ah, well, that’s not it. Because Captain Curtis had another life as Captain Curtis. And I was no longer Princess Serafina.
There's absolutely no reason for him to become my guardian knight again.
Having come to this conclusion, I realized that Captain Curtis's proposal only applied while I was at Sutherland. So I gave a simple reply.
"Hehe, I look forward to working with you, Curtis." (Fia)
Upon hearing what I said, Captain Curtis took a deep knightly bow in a very silent and sacred manner, like a priest who had seen the stigmata.
...At that moment, I was mesmerized by the beauty of Captain Curtis's movements, which I had not seen in a long time.
"As expected of a former princess's escort knight, he's very beautiful," I thought nonchalantly.
——And so, I never noticed the determined look in Captain Curtis's eyes, nor did I realize how much weight my words carried in his mind.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading.
The comic adaptation by Aobē Mahito will begin on Comic Earth Star on Thursday, December 19th.
That is, starting today. I thought it was really interesting!
I have posted the link below, so please take a look if you'd like.