Chapter 73
Saint’s Visit
2
Translator : PolterGlast
The room beyond the
door was for important people. It was muffled, and honestly, it was hard to
make out what they were saying. But I had my eavesdropping skill at full blast.
"...We are deeply sorry for this matter..." Nabari-san's voice was
audible. While I was pressing my ear against the door with Ichi and the others,
doing my best, Lotus was sitting cross-legged against a nearby wall with his
eyes closed, confirming what he heard. It was terrifying that he could hear
like that.
Inside were Veda,
Nabari-san, and apparently, since it wouldn't do for just the two of them, they
had brought several witnesses each. Yuko wasn't there. Before entering the
room, Nabari-san insisted with a determined look, "I will convey
everything properly!" ...If you say so. She had tilted her head and was
waiting in the original "Yuko's room." That room from the shortcut.
It used to be a dusty
space, but Ichi and the others had already made it sparkling clean, and you
couldn't get out of there without dripping water on the door. To get out using
the shortcut function, you had to place your feet perfectly on a specific spot
on the alcove floor, without even a millimeter of error, so it was more like
being trapped in the room than relaxing. But to keep her from realizing that,
she was currently enjoying a cozy tea time.
While thinking about
that, I focused on enhancing my eavesdropping ability. I closed my eyes and
concentrated even more.
『We are terribly sorry for this matter. If possible, we
would have liked to inform you beforehand, as you said...』
『The problem is that Saint Yuko, isn't it?』
Veda cut in bluntly,
making it difficult for Nabari-san to speak. He had said he disliked beating
around the bush. He looked like a thoughtful character, but he was surprisingly
short-tempered. Dealing with Yuko had apparently made him furious.
『The message you sent earlier, stating that you were
unaware of the Saint's existence, was a sophistry, wasn't it? The Saint is too
much to handle for you. But because she is the Saint, you cannot carelessly
restrain her, and you have no choice but to let her be free... In other words,
since she is not in your control, it is the same as being unaware of her. The
fact that you said earlier that the use of the World Tree is managed by both
the royal family and the church is also a problem. There hasn't even been a
mutual agreement of opinions.』
Nabari-san was
overwhelmed by the punches of his unreserved words. It was about that Yuko.
『...You are correct. Since they used her lack of prayer
as an excuse, things turned quite difficult for us... And she insisted that if
the World Tree branches couldn't be used, we should provide a ship.』
『Since the ritual isn't complete, then even if it's
just for domestic use, using it for other countries is something even the gods
wouldn't allow. But even so, why come to this country?』
『Apparently, there is something she desperately needs.
The Mirror of Foresight, the Saint-sama said.』
(...Y-yeah, it's that
after all!?)
When I was looking at
Yuko's situation with the mirror, she had said that if she had the Mirror of
Foresight... There was no doubt, Yuko was a hardcore player of The Tale of the
Land of Five Leaves. There was no way she would overlook it. At the word "mirror,"
Lotus's eyes snapped open and he looked at me. I knew what he wanted to say.
The Mirror of
Foresight had already been used. --By me.
One might think that
any of the World Tree's leaves would do, but that wasn't the case. It had to be
the largest leaf that had grown. I hadn't told Veda that much detail, but
perhaps he suspected something. But his tone of voice didn't change at all. 『The Mirror of Foresight? I've never heard of it.』 Hyuu! His feigned ignorance was masterful!
This wasn't the time
to be dancing around with Ichi and the others, giving thumbs up. Hmm? Lotus
stood up as if he had sensed something. As Lotus moved slowly, yosho, all of us
were grabbed by the scruff of our necks when the door opened. "El and
Lotus, isn't it!? What on earth are you doing here?" Veda's monotone was
amazing.
Veda probably realized
that we were secretly eavesdropping here, and Lotus also knew that Veda knew,
so he was probably gathering us up so as not to be unsightly to the visitors.
Veda realized that I
had some connection to the Saint (although it was actually just that I knew
about her), and that I was a demon with a fixed skill that allowed me to read
the future (or so he mistakenly thought), but too clumsy to do any real harm,
all of which he had probably read from the memories of the World Tree's roots.
It was complicated with so many annotations. Anyway, since I was the one who
brought up the Mirror of Foresight, I couldn't deny the feeling of being
forcibly involved, but me, Lotus, Ichi and the others, our usual group, were
gathered up along with Veda, Nabari-san, and Yuko too, and led to the World
Tree chamber.
"This is the
World Tree...!"
Yuko happily spread
her arms wide and spun around the tree, squealing. I kind of understood her
feeling of saying, "It's the same as in the game!" But a few minutes
later, a nightmare descended. The largest leaf among the World Tree's leaves
didn't change at all when placed in Yuko's palm. Because it had already been
used—by me!
Even if it was
currently the largest leaf, it hadn't fully grown yet. "W-why!?
Whyyy!?" Yuko screamed, and amidst the quiet gazes from Lotus and Veda, I
shrank down.
"Ugh, maybe it
hasn't fully grown yet... maybe I came too early."
--That's not it! El
used it!
--Shut up, San!
--You idiot!
Even though they
couldn't be seen or heard by anyone other than Lotus and me, San's assertions
were bad for my heart. And Ichi and Nii were beating up San. Stop fighting...
And so, Yuko ended up
living in the Magic Tower until the World Tree's leaves grew. Of course, Veda
set conditions. First, the fact that the Saint had been summoned had to be made
known to all the leaves. He had said the same thing to us before, that the
summoning of the Saint should originally be a matter shared by all the leaves,
but his expression was somehow heavy. I wondered what was wrong.
"The Head Tower
is currently absent. Originally, this isn't something I should decide, but I
have been granted authority as his proxy."
The shocking fact that
the Head Tower's old man wasn't around made me go "hoeh?", but
Nabari-san, with a pained look, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said,
"We will do our utmost, but..." He probably hadn't expected to be
able to get a reply based on his own judgment right there. I nodded, as if to
say it couldn't be helped. Cloudy Country was a country where the royal family
and the church were vying for power, and the decision-making authority was
ambiguous.
Now then, this Saint
Yuko started wandering freely around the Magic Tower. After all, they couldn't
possibly lock up the Saint in a single room.
This was a scene
during cleaning in the tower one day. Yuko had taken out a book from somewhere
and was reading it intently, her eyes wide open. It was a little scary.
Wondering what was going on, I made eye contact with her.
"...What?"
"Eh, no, um. I
was cleaning..."
"Oh, right. Just
do whatever you want. I'm saving right now."
"Saving,
huh...?"
"I'm
concentrating really hard."
Holding the mop and
looking at Yuko's back, I stood there with an indescribable feeling, realizing
that an action that was just a press of a button in a game was a big deal in
reality.
Since then, I
occasionally discovered Yuko saving in overly mysterious places and poses. Did
the heroine have her own struggles?
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