After parting ways with Captain Curtis, I spent the afternoon helping to clean up after the festival.
I worked with Fabian and he was very skilled at everything. If we added Captain Curtis to Fabian and Captain Cyril, wouldn't the First Knight Order become the strongest?
…Oh, now that I think of it, isn’t there going to be a mock battle or royal tournament between the knight orders soon? I was trying to recall what the prize was when Fabian called out to me with a cool look on his face.
"Great Saint Fia, you have a very materialistic expression on your face. That is vulgarity unbecoming of a Great Saint." (Fabian)
"Huh?" (Fia)
"Oh my, I don't see why you would reply to that. Such words are lacking in dignity, unbecoming of the Great Saint." (Fabian)
Fabian frowned convincingly, so I retorted angrily.
"Fabian, you're dreaming too much of the Great Saint. Even the Great Saint says things like 'bweh' and 'huwa'." (Fia)
"Wow, that's the kind of comeback you get? Fia is as entertaining as ever, isn't she?" (Fabian)
Fabian looked at me oddly.
"Aren't you being rude to someone who 'maybe' be the reincarnation of the Great Saint's soul?" (Fia)
I said, pretending to be angry, and he looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Fia is truly unpredictable. No one could have predicted that after only four days of stay, the local people would come to worship her as a great saint. If you had told me this five days ago, I'm sure I would have thought it was an absurd idea and would have refused to take you seriously." (Fabian)
He said this with a look of genuine admiration from the bottom of his heart.
I pretended to glare at Fabian, but inwardly I breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, the knights, including Fabian, had heard the rumor that I was the reincarnation of the great saint, but none of them seemed to take it seriously.
In fact, most of the knights seemed to think it was a ploy by Captain Cyril to make friends with the residents, and were impressed, saying "As expected of Captain Cyril."
...Hmm. It's true that Captain Cyril is excellent, but in this way it can be made even better.
Feeling like I had finally understood how the world worked, I went around confirming the knights' speculations in order to become a part of that system. Towards the end, there were theories about Captain Cyril being a great sage and a prophet, so I felt like I had gone a bit overboard, but I figured there was nothing I could do about it now that I'd done it, so I decided not to look back on the past.
Over the next three days, we prepared for the memorial ceremony.
What surprised me was that the local residents offered to help me.
As I was working and laughing with the knights as usual, I suddenly heard a voice call out from behind. When I turned around, I saw about ten residents standing around Erial, looking nervous.
The knights who had been working with me all stood up in shock. The knights and residents stared at each other tensely, and to an unfamiliar observer, it might seem like they were in conflict. When I thought about it like that, it felt funny and I couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing my laughter, Erial looked at me with resentful eyes.
"That's cruel, Great Saint! You're laughing..."
"Sorry, Erial. I thought that if someone who didn't know us looked at us, our pairing would seem like a complete opposite, and it just seemed funny." (Fia)
"No, I can't see! We are clearly physically inferior! I'm not going out of my way to get into a fight just to get beaten!" (Arial)
"Well, I don't know about that. Ah, but it would be great if you could help! I'm having trouble with the construction of this place. Is there anyone here who's good at it?" (Fia)
I said that and he helped me out in a relaxed manner. The knights were of course friendly, and the people of the remote island were a kind people to begin with. They had a disposition to be helpful to others. There was no way this combination wouldn't work.
It turned out my thinking was not wrong, as the number of residents offering to help increased steadily as time went on.
On the final day of preparations, the number of residents exceeded the number of knights, to the point that it became unclear who was helping out.
I felt happy and looked up at Captain Curtis who was working next to me.
"That's great, Curtis! I never thought the knights and the villagers would get along so well that they would work together. And it's great that the villagers are the ones to reach out to us." (Fia)
Captain Curtis glanced at me with a smile and answered as if it was the most obvious thing.
"That's only natural. With you here as a member of the Knights, it's only natural that the locals would be friendly." (Curtis)
"Huh? No no, Curtis. Stop that habit of yours, of trying to think of everything from my perspective. The world is made up of many complicated and intertwined things. I'm just a small part of it." (Fia)
"…………Hehe." (Curtis)
"Hey! C-Curtis! You just laughed at me! No, it's me who wants to laugh! You always think of me as the most superior being, so I want to make fun of you and laugh just a little, just a little, and tell you that the world isn't like that!" (Fia)
Even though I was saying this, I felt a little happy. ...Good. I'm starting to not match up with Canopus's personality. Hehe, Captain Curtis and Canopus are blending well together.
In this way, while we were working happily, preparations for the consolation ceremony were completed without a hitch. But most of it is down to the local residents.
The day before the ceremony, as with any festival, I had a lighter dinner than usual and went to bed earlier. The comfort ceremony, like the festival, began before dawn.
...Why do all the events in Sutherland start before dawn? I wonder if everyone who lives here is an early riser. While wondering about this, my thoughts turned to the situation at Captain Curtis the other day. When I talked about the death of the great saint in the previous life, Captain Curtis was in tears.
…I wonder if the reason why Captain Curtis was acting strange at that time had something to do with his older brothers in his previous life? Unlike me, all three of my older brothers from my previous life should have returned to the castle, so I'm sure they spread all sorts of rumors about it.
For example, that I was weaker and more useless than I thought and couldn't help. Or maybe I was so badly damaged that it was impossible to bring me home.
In other words, I was still alive when he left, but on my last legs—What I was talking about was Captain Curtis. Perhaps he was tormented by imagining the worst case scenario in which I might have suffered for a long time.
In my previous life, Canopus likely lived for a long time after I died, so perhaps after years of imagining the worst, it became true for Canopus?
——If that's the case, then I was right to tell KAATISUDANCHOU that I died without suffering. Yes, with this new imprinting, Captain Curtis's mind should be at peace. Ok, I did a good thing...
I was thinking about all sorts of things like that, but when I woke up, it was already the next morning. As usual, time flew when you're asleep, I was thinking to myself as I change my clothes. I had promised Chief Radek that I would wear a light blue dress today, so I did, but when I went to the dining hall for breakfast, the knights looked at me strangely.
"Fia, today is the reception ceremony. It's not a free day, so should you be wearing your knight uniform?"
"You're right, but today I'm wearing these clothes at the request of Chief Radek." (Fia)
"Really?"
Seeing the knights still looking puzzled even after hearing the explanation, I too began to find it strange.
...Now that I think of it, why did Chief Radek ask me to wear a dress? I wonder if he requested it because he thought I looked especially cute in that dress?
The time passed without us finding an answer, so we went to the venue for the memorial ceremony. The location was on the cliff of the cape where Captain Cyril's mother had fallen. It was pitch black before dawn, but many knights were already stationed on both sides of the cliff, each holding a torch. By their light, they climbed the cliff. Normally, Duke Sutherland, the highest ranking attendee of the ceremony, would appear after everyone had gathered and his name was called, but Captain Cyril had already arrived. It's so typical of Captain Cyril that it brought a smile to my face.
...I hope this sincerity reaches the residents.
Thinking this, I gaze at Captain Cyril. It was before dawn, so the place was dimly lit only by torchlight, but Captain Cyril stood out among the others as he acted as a leader. He was dressed in ceremonial knight garb like the other knights, and looked good to say the least. Perhaps because of the darkness, the chiseled features of Captain Cyril's face, illuminated by the torchlight, seemed to be emphasized, and I couldn't help but tilt my head.
...No matter how you look at it, he's beautiful, isn't he? I wonder why such a wonderful knight, Captain, is single? Once again, I wondered why Captain Cyril was still single.
I wonder if his status as a duke means he has various ties that prevent him from marrying freely? Or is there actually some drawback somewhere that nullifies all the advantages?
As I gazed upon it, thinking this, Captain Cyril, who had noticed my arrival, beckoned to me. Thinking that it might be urgent, I rushed over, and was pointed to the seat next to the Captain.
"Fia, you stay here." (Cyril)
"What?" (Fia)
"I have made up my mind. I have realized, albeit belatedly, that with all the effort you have put in as the reincarnation of the Great Saint, this is not the time to feel guilty and back away. I will do my best to assist you in your performance." (Cyril)
"………………" (Fia)
As Captain Cyril flashed a smile of relief, I gave him a suspicious look.
...Um, Captain, I don't need that kind of help. For some reason, no matter what I said or did, the locals believed I was a great saint. The operation would be a success even if we left it like this, so no further assistance was necessary.
But of course, I couldn't say such a thing, so I simply nodded silently.