...Captain Curtis's attitude is only strange now, right?
I sat down on a protruding rock that looked comfortable and was in deep thought.
Just as I regained my memories of my past life when I was nearly killed by Zavilia, Captain Curtis appeared to have regained his memories after being nearly killed by Erial and his group.
Or maybe just before that. His sudden, belligerent attitude towards the locals, such as when he suddenly drew his sword, seemed a bit odd, but if he had regained his memories of his previous life at that point, it would make sense. Considering the end of my life in my previous life, he must have thought, "This time for sure," and tried to protect me at all costs.
Either way, it's safe to say that it was only just now that he regained his memories of his previous life.
If you look at my experience, a lot of memories will come flooding in all at once, and at first you'll be overwhelmed with information you won't be able to process. Some memories will be remembered later. So it will probably take a few days for the information to be properly organized in your head.
In other words, up until that point, Captain Curtis's memory was in a state of confusion, so even if there was something strange in the captain's words and actions, it would have been kind to overlook it.
I nodded and concluded that Captain Curtis's abnormal bowing was probably a temporary effect of his memories from his past life being revived, and that it would subside within a few days.
Otherwise, it would be a problem. I was just a knight in this life. I can't help but stand out in a bad way if a Knight Captain bows down to me!
Thinking that I would be free from this strange situation in a few days, I breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to Erial and the others who had surrounded me at a certain distance.
"Erial, you're the chief's grandson, right? Is that why you're taking care of the sick like this?" (Fia)
When Erial heard what I said, he jumped in surprise, held out both hands, and asked me to change my tone.
"G-G-G-Great Saint. I-if it's alright, could you please stop talking like that? I've committed acts of violence, so when you speak to me like that, I feel so sorry I want to collapse." (Arial)
"Huh, well, if you fall asleep because of something like my tone, I think it will be a nuisance for the others..." (Fia)
"Oh, I can't do this anymore. Hearing the Great Saint's polite words made me want to collapse." (Arial)
As he said this, Erial really did fall to the ground with a loud thud.
"Hey, Erial, what are you doing?!" (Fia)
Hearing what I said, Erial let out a "Guhh" and rubbed his face against the ground again, so I hastily rephrased what he was saying.
"Huh, Erial, seriously, what are you doing?!" (Fia)
"...Ah, I feel a little better now." (Arial)
Erial collapsed to the ground, turned his muddy face to me and laughed weakly. However, there was mud on his forehead, cheeks, and nose even as he was smiling, and it was hard to come up with a decision.
"Hey, Erial, what happened all of a sudden?" (Fia)
Seeing Erial's completely suspicious behavior, I naturally raised a question.
"You weren't even paying attention to my tone until now! Why are you suddenly starting to care?" (Fia)
When Erial saw that my tone was no longer polite, he quickly got up and spoke with a straight face.
"When I first met you, due to my own immorality, I did not realize you were the Great Saint. And immediately after I realized you were the Great Saint, I was so outrageous that I only thought about apologizing. Now that I have calmed down a bit, I have finally realized the unnaturalness of your tone." (Arial)
"You see, Erial, I'm merely someone who 'maybe' be a great saint, you know?" (Fia)
I didn't think it's right to confirm that I was the great saint, so I wanted to emphasize that point.
Erial, who had been listening to the conversation between me and Captain Curtis, glanced at me with a cautious expression before speaking.
"...If that's what you want, I'd call you a 'Probably Great Saint.'" (Arial)
Ah, that's a subtle way of putting it.
I puffed out my cheeks and rested my elbows on my knees.
"...I wonder why everyone here reveres the Great Saint so much. She only visited her once a long time ago. And 300 years have passed since then." (Fia)
I blurted out a question that had been bothering me for a long time, and Erial looked at me in surprise.
"Have you forgotten what you did for us? You cured our plague and saved our clan from certain annihilation!" (Arial)
"...Not me, but the Great Saint. Just like a chef cooks food, the Great Saint only healed everyone's illnesses because she was a saint, right? So, I don't think it's anything special, just because she fulfilled her duties?" (Fia)
"...You're the only person in the world who would seriously say something like that." (Arial)
Erial said this as he clutched his chest in pain.
"Huh? Hey, Erial? What's wrong? Are you feeling a pain in your chest?" (Fia)
I quickly stood up and approached him, and saw that not only was Erial, but the other residents standing around him were also clutching their chests.
"Yes, it hurts. My heart throbs with adoration and respect when I witness the depth of the Great Saint's mercy." (Arial)
The surrounding residents silently nodded in agreement to Erial's words.
...Wow, I'm starting to think this is going too far. Some people were even in tears, which made me feel a little concerned about the current situation.
It's true that I promised Captain Curtis (before they regained their memories) and Captain Cyril that I would pretend to be the resurrected Great Saint. And because of my overflowing elegance and nobility, it seemed that Erial and the others believed in the Great Saint's resurrection more than they initially thought, but, hmm, that's a bit of an exaggeration.
"...300 years is an incredible amount of time. No matter how grateful you are for the Yellow Spot Disease incident, it was a long time ago, wasn't it?" (Fia)
The way Erial and the others expressed their gratitude was so great that it was as if they had been directly healed, so I asked, still in disbelief.
Then Erial nodded, clutching his chest with one hand.
"Yes, it is a story from a long time ago. And if it weren't for the Great Saint's mercy long ago, our family wouldn't be here now.... As soon as our family was born, we were taught about the Great Saint's mercy as the most important thing. Our mothers, our fathers, the neighbors, over and over again, told us the fact that we are here now because the Great Saint gave us life, and the kindness that we owe to her for that. All the people of the remote island grew up listening to stories of the Great Saint from an early age." (Arial)
"Huh..."
Hearing this unexpected story, I couldn't help but let out a strange cry. However, Erial didn't seem to mind and continued talking as if it was a matter of course.
"We have a history of being persecuted. We know that individuals are weak, so we act collectively. We stand up collectively against persecution we receive as individuals, and we collectively try to repay kindness we receive as individuals. But... what happens when a group... an entire clan receives kindness? And what if we are unable to repay even a single cent of that kindness?" (Arial)
Erial stopped talking there and looked at me as if asking a question.
"Well, should we just pretend it never happened and forget about it?" (Fia)
I clapped my hands together and answered as if a flash of inspiration had struck me, but everyone there, including Erial, gave me displeased looks. Really displeased looks.
"...Hey, I was only answering a question, so there's no need to look so annoyed! There are as many answers as there are people, so wouldn't it be better if you respected my answer a little more?" (Fia)
As I continued to argue, Erial shook his head in denial.
"In this case, there is only one answer. 'Your kindness simply accumulates and grows.' So, with prayerful feelings, we waited for the Great Saint's return. ...Perhaps there is nothing we cannot do for the Great Saint." (Arial)
As several pairs of serious eyes stared at me, I swallowed hard.
...Wh-what should I do? The situation is worse than I thought.
It was not uncommon to be thanked for being cured, but I wondered if this was on a completely different level. It was unclear whether the people of the remote island were originally a loyal people, or whether their feelings of gratitude to the Great Saint had grown stronger as they had been passed down from generation to generation, but it did seem as though their feelings of gratitude had swelled to an incredible level.
"Umm, Erial. Well, then, how about saying 'thank you'? Express your gratitude by saying 'thank you'. That way, the person who said it will feel better, and the person who heard it will be happy too. Shall we wrap things up with that?" (Fia)
Even though I presented a quick and practical idea, Erial and the others looked ambiguous and didn't reply.
…Well, even though you said you were extremely grateful to the Great Saint and that you could do anything, everyone ignored my words and said that they thought I might be the Great Saint. Yeah, well, I guess I'm not as grateful as I sound.
Thinking that, I felt somewhat relieved and glanced over at Sariella.
...I understand. The great saint was sulking when everyone ignored her. And then I woke up. In the end, the only ones I could rely on were my fellow saints.
I had decided to become friends with Saint Sariella.
Author's Note
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