"So, which material should I pick?" (Curtis)
I watched indescribable emotion as Captain Curtis got down on one knee and asked me the question with the utmost politeness.
I worried that if an outsider were to look at this, they might not understand that this was the relationship between a Captain and a simple knight.
"...Umm, Curtis. The Knights are an unmistakably hierarchical society. A Captain and an ordinary knight have completely different positions, you know?" (Fia)
I began explaining everything to Captain Curtis, who seemed to have no understanding of the caste system within the Knight Order. However, as soon as I stopped speaking, Captain Curtis responded with a question.
"I heard from Captain Cyril that Captain Quentin, the fourth demon knight, is bowing down to Lady Fi?" (Curtis)
"Ugh..." (Fia)
As I was trying to correct the mistaken relationship, Captain Curtis presented me with information that was advantageous to him and that he had somehow obtained on his own, and I cried out in anguish.
... How dare you bring up Captain Quentin! Captain Curtis attacks from an unexpected place, isn't he! And his attacks are very effective!
I thought for a moment about what to say in response, but I couldn't come up with anything good and sighed in defeat.
...This isn't going to be that easy to convince. Now that I knew the bad precedent set by Captain Quentin, I didn't think Captain Curtis's overly polite attitude would change easily. Oh, this is going to be a long battle.
With that in mind, I decided to pretend there was no question about Captain Quentin and answer the first question from Captain Curtis.
"Um, well, I think we were talking about materials. The yellow spot disease has mutated in a somewhat troublesome way, so in order to cure it..." (Fia)
As I spoke, a sudden idea struck me and I glanced over at Captain Curtis.
"Um, well... I guess I need something yellow and precious, something that's in the forest." (Fia)
As Captain Curtis said, it would be disastrous if it were discovered that I am a Saint, so I had decided to carry out some belated cover-up.
Thinking back on what I said and did up until now, I might have said something a little careless, but I was sure there was still room for recovery. In other words, as long as I didn't use healing magic in front of me, I could get away with anything.
However, if I were to casually rattle off the ingredients of a new miracle cure at this point, it would be extremely suspicious. Therefore, I decided to force my opinion on the ingredients for the new miracle drug by making it appear as if Captain Curtis had spoken about it.
After all, he was my former guardian knight. Since we had spent more time together than anyone else in their previous lives, we must understand each other everything—In other words, when I talked about 1, Captain Curtis would definitely be able to guess 10!
As I gazed upon Captain Curtis with absolute trust, the captain slowly nodded as if he understood.
"Understood, Lady Fi." (Curtis)
Captain Curtis looked very reliable as he answered with confidence. As expected of my former guardian knight! Perhaps you know me better than I know myself?
While I was feeling proud of that, the former guardian knight spoke a ridiculous answer with a confident look on his face.
"Yellow mithril steel." (Curtis)
"...Huh? N-No, it's not! Hey, Curtis, it's a precious yellow thing. Do you have anything else?" (Fia)
When Captain Curtis made a mistake with great pride, I immediately corrected him. However, the former guardian knight, who was supposed to understand everything, frowned in confusion.
"...Isn't it yellow mithril steel? It's a material that can be used to make a wonderful sword. ...Then, is it yellow bamboo? It certainly has an artistic straight line, and it can be used as a weapon." (Curtis)
"Hey, Curtis, you've only been thinking of weapons! But speaking of precious yellow things that women and girls like..." (Fia)
"Ah! The fang of the Yellow Emperor Beast! With that we can make a dagger that even women can use easily." (Curtis)
"That's why I told you it's not a weapon! It's a petal! It's a 'Yellow Wind Flower Petal'!!" (Fia)
I couldn't help but shout out loud at Captain Curtis's terrible intuition.
The most precious and hardest to obtain yellow thing in the forest was undoubtedly the yellow windflower petals! This was because, although the yellow tulip flower blooms on large trees, for some reason it only blooms on the largest tree in the forest.
In other words, to obtain the "Yellow Wind Flower Petals," you must find the largest Yellow Wind Flower tree in the vast forest. That would be extremely difficult and arduous.
So, the answer is definitely "Yellow Wind Flower Petals"!
While I was muttering this to myself and glaring at the former guardian knight with his poor sense of intuition, Captain Curtis seemed to have already started thinking about how to collect the material, and opened his mouth with some difficulty.
"Yellow Wind Flower Petals, correct? ...If you give me half a day, I can gather them all... but I can't leave Lady Fi alone. If you don't mind, could I send Lady Fi to Captain Cyril first, and then go and gather materials?" (Curtis)
"No, no, please stop wasting your time on me. I'll be waiting here with Erial and Sariella, so it'll be fine." (FIa)
Although Captain Curtis was generally obedient to what I said, he frowned in distress when he heard what I was saying.
"...Lady Fi, there is one great sin I have committed against you that can never be forgiven. First of all, I should have apologized as soon as we met in this life, but... considering your position, I thought it was not something to do in public, so I waited until the right time to do so." (Curtis)
"Umm……" (Fia)
Having somehow guessed the content of Captain Curtis's apology, I thought that if the content of the apology was as I imagined, then Captain Curtis was not at fault in any way, so I remained vague.
Perhaps taking my pause as a break in the conversation, Captain Curtis continued.
"And there is one thing bothering me that leads to this apology... I can't help but feel terrified at leaving your side." (Curtis)
As he spoke, Captain Curtis's face instantly turned pale, as if he had been imagining something.
"Hey, Curtis!? Are you okay? You look like you might collapse at any moment..." (Fia)
When I called out to him in surprise, Captain Curtis covered his mouth with one hand and bent his torso in pain.
"That's spot on, Lady Fi. I feel so ill I could collapse. ...Ah, I had imagined it over and over again, and thought I had overcome it, but ...I had no idea that imagining you in front of me could cause so much damage. ...I apologize for being so inexperienced." (Curtis)
"Huh? Well, I think you're not immature, you're a fine knight. I don't know what you're imagining, but it doesn't seem like it's doing you any favors, so I think you should think about something else. For example... the taste of the cake you'll eat after you've successfully lost weight." (Fia)
In an attempt to help the distressed Captain Curtis, I gave him any advice I could think of.
However, Captain Curtis clearly argued back in a trembling voice.
"...I know I have to say this, but there is no end to dieting. If someone eats cake in the middle of a diet, I don't think they should be attempting it." (Curtis)
"...Hmm, hmm. Well, let's think more simply... For example, how about imagining yourself surrounded by beautiful women, all squealing and cheering? Wouldn't that make you happy and energetic?" (Fia)
"Why does that image need multiple women? One is enough for me. And since there is no one more important to me than Lady Fi right now, the image of being surrounded by such women is just bothersome. ...Ah, you are truly impressive, Lady Fi. Talking with you has calmed me down. Your choice of conversation to bring me back to my senses is admirable. Thank you for your concern." (Curtis)
"………………" (Fia)
No, yes, I did try to make various suggestions to calm him down, but I didn't expect him to calm down like this. I had imagined that he would look pleased with what I was saying, then I grinned, I had originally imagined it would blow away the unpleasant things I had imagined, but...
While I was thinking that, Captain Curtis raised his bent upper body and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his knight uniform. Then the Captain let out a big sigh and looked at me with a troubled look.
"...To be honest, even for Captain Cyril, I am worried about leaving Lady Fi with him. However, if we cannot obtain new materials and create a miracle cure, Lady Fi will likely heal the sick, even if it means using a method that he is trying to hide. ...That would be very risky." (Curtis)
"...Umm, in that case, why don't I join you in gathering materials? Two people will finish faster than one." (Fia)
Seeing Captain Curtis pouring out his feelings as if he was at a complete loss, I offered a lifeline. However, it was rejected without a moment's hesitation.
"I'm sorry to have brought this up yourself, but I cannot agree to the plan. Of course I intend to protect you from anything, but I think there is less risk in you staying here than going into the monster forest with me." (Curtis)
Although he still seemed to be unsure as he spoke, he knelt down in front of me as if he had made up his mind, and spoke with a serious expression.
"I understand that there is no situation without risk... but I understand, Lady Fi. I will quickly gather the materials as you requested. In the meantime, I apologize for the inconvenience, but please wait here... It would not be good for your mental health to separate you from the sick." (Curtis)
Seeing Captain Curtis standing up with a determined look on his face, I became worried and couldn't help but call out to him.
"Curtis, you're not going alone, right? It's the 'Yellow Wind Flower Petals', right? We'll need people to help us search the whole forest, and if we go deep into the forest there will be vicious monsters. ...After all, wouldn't it be better if I went with you in case anyone gets injured?" (Fia)
However, when Captain Curtis heard what I said, he frowned in confusion.
"I'm sorry to repeat myself, but there is something Lady Fi is trying to hide, isn't there? Just thinking about that, I think it would be a mistake to accompany me to a place where there may be others besides me with such thoughts..." (Curtis)
As he spoke, he turned towards me and bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry if I sound arrogant, but Lady Fi, please remember that sometimes you have to cut things off. You can't save everything. You have to determine what is most important, and in order to protect that, I think sometimes you have to cut everything else off." (Curtis)
"Huh, yeah, that's right..." (Fia)
Understanding what Captain Curtis was trying to say, I nodded repeatedly to reassure him. The "most important thing" that Captain Curtis was alluding to was probably "my life." Considering Captain's role in previous life, it's probably a perfectly natural thought, but...
However, some of my precious things include Captain Curtis, and going deep into the forest would be extremely dangerous no matter how you look at it.
As if he could hear my worried thoughts, Captain Curtis whispered softly to reassure me.
"Don't worry, Lady Fi. I am originally from this land, so I know this land. I will return alone, taking the shortest route, and soon." (Curtis)
Then, after bowing deeply once more, Captain Curtis quickly approached Erial and grabbed him by the collar.
"Well then, I will leave Lady Fi in your care! She may well be the Great Saint whom you all believe in! Be extremely careful not to harm her even a single hair! And keep everything you see and hear here to yourself!" (Curtis)
No matter how you look at it, it wasn't an attitude of asking for something, but for some reason Erial nodded enthusiastically as if he understood.
"I, I understand!!" (Arial)
Erial and the others replied in a hoarse voice, and Captain Curtis glared at them again as if threatening them, then quickly left the cave.