Chapter 12: Going home

“Ms. Priest, are you alright? Would you like to use a Magic Stone to replenish your strength?”

The maid, Beti, only walked over to show her concern for Mowan after confirming that everyone else had recovered.

Mowan shook her head.

She looked up at the Princess, who had stood up.

“Her Highness the Princess, don’t you think this Monster was a bit strange?”

“It was a bit strange. It seemed like it could reflect my magic back at me.”

“…”

Is that really how you understood it?

This was clearly a type of Self-Destruct Magic.

Usually, Reflection Magic should be a means of neutralizing an enemy’s magic while still alive.

Whatever.

The Princess probably couldn’t even imagine that humans would create a Monster.

Even if she did think of it, as the Princess of the Kingdom of Visa, she probably wouldn’t want to believe her own subjects would do such a thing.

The Princess looked down at the holes in her own clothes.

She walked over to Mowan’s side and reached out a hand, revealing a radiant smile.

Mowan’s eyes were filled with confusion.

Nonetheless, she still placed her hand in the Princess’s.

The Princess pulled her up.

“Just now, when those rays of light pierced my body, I felt a kind of energy trying to decompose my internals. It was truly terrifying.”

“Yes. That Monster looked like it only had physical means of attack. It didn’t use any magic attacks until the moment it died. Who would have thought it would trigger such powerful Self-Destruct Magic after death?”

“As expected, a Priest recognized by Sister Iserin is truly impressive!”

The Princess laughed heartily as she put her arm around Mowan’s shoulder.

“If it weren’t for you, I might have died here.”

Having such a boisterous Princess acting so familiar with her made Mowan feel a bit embarrassed for a moment.

“It’s a pity you belong to Sister Iserin. She only lent you to me for a day.”

Mowan was startled.

Was she not the Princess’s dedicated Priest?

Why was Iserin telling others that she worked under the Saintess?

Seeing Mowan remain silent and brooding, the Princess thought Mowan was angry because she had been too careless.

She let go of Mowan somewhat dejectedly and turned to issue orders to her soldiers.

“Soldiers, pay attention and check the scene for any other suspicious points. Once we pack up, let’s head back to the Holy City quickly.”

“Yes, Her Highness the Princess.”

“Ms. Priest, come eat something.”

The Princess invited Mowan again.

She pulled Mowan over to sit on a rock and waved for the maid to take food out of the pack.

She set aside her noble status as a Princess and sat with Mowan as equals, like friends.

Mowan’s evaluation of the Princess rose a few points.

Though she had acted arrogantly before, she knew how to be grateful toward her savior.

The soldiers did a sweep and found no other traces of Monster activity.

After that, the Princess prepared to leave.

The party of six set off to return to the city.

Mowan had a thousand doubts in her heart, but she had only known the Princess for barely two days.

She wasn’t stupid enough to tell the Princess everything.

Her task was only to protect the Princess.

Now that her task was complete, there was no need for her to be talkative.

Then, could she tell the Saintess?

Suddenly, Mowan realized that she had also only known Iserin for two days, yet for some reason, she seemed to trust Iserin more.

It should… be fine, right?

After all, Iserin and I are friends.

But wouldn’t the Saintess find the existence of such a Monster even more intolerable?

The human Church had always proclaimed that Monsters were filthy things created by the Demon Race, and that the Demon Race brought evil into the mortal world to harm humanity.

If she directly confessed her internal suspicions to Iserin, Iserin would probably think she was defending the Demon Race, wouldn’t she?

Mowan felt a bit discouraged.

It seemed best to keep this matter buried in her heart.

***

By the time they returned to the Holy City, the sky had already turned dark.

The Princess bid her farewell and repeatedly instructed her not to disclose this operation to anyone else.

Mowan stood at the crossroads leading to the upper and lower levels of the Holy City, preparing to head toward the Sun Church in the upper level.

The Princess hadn’t given her any wages when she left.

In the afternoon, the Princess had also told her she was borrowed from Iserin, so she wasn’t actually employed by the Princess.

Therefore, she could only go to Iserin for her pay.

She arrived before the cathedral doors.

Mowan walked into the cathedral.

There was only one Nun on duty inside. Mowan politely asked the Nun.

“Good evening. Excuse me, may I request an audience with the Saintess?”

“The Saintess has already left the cathedral.”

“I am an envoy from Her Highness the Princess. If you tell her that, she should come out to see me.”

“I’m not lying to you. The Saintess really has left the cathedral. If you wish to see her, you will certainly be able to see her if you come tomorrow morning. She never refuses to receive sincere believers.”

“Alright then…”

Am I not sincere enough?

Mowan thought to herself.

She lowered her head and left the cathedral.

Before stepping out the main gates, she took one last look back at the Nun standing guard.

The Nun nodded gently and returned a smile.

It didn’t seem like she was lying.

Then she would come back tomorrow.

Mowan walked slowly toward the outer district of the Holy City.

There wasn’t much money left in her pockets; it probably wouldn’t be enough to support a month’s living expenses.

She wasn’t in the mood to eat right now.

Returning to the house Iserin had given her, Mowan was surprised to find light shining through the closed windows.

She looked left and right, wondering if she had gone to the wrong door.

But there were indeed eight pots of Lily flowers placed in front of this house, and one more should be by the window inside.

After hesitating for a moment, Mowan stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Creak~

The door actually opened.

However, the person who appeared in the house wasn’t a stranger, but the Saintess, Iserin.

Mowan stood frozen at the door, forgetting to greet Iserin for a moment.

“You’re back. Was the mission completed successfully?”

“Yes.”

Iserin’s expression was calm, yet Mowan seemed to see a hint of a smile in those beautiful red eyes.

“Are you angry with me?”

“Eh? Why would I be?”

Mowan snapped out of it.

Just now, she was only wondering why Iserin would specifically appear in her home to wait for her return, as well as how she should describe the mission, how much reward she should ask for, or perhaps offer a formal refusal to let Iserin decide the payment.

She had accidentally spaced out for too long.

She absolutely didn’t mean to ignore Iserin!

“I thought you were angry because I ignored you this morning.”

“I didn’t think that. Back then, you were busy too. You are the Saintess after all; I can’t disturb you during your working hours.”

“But you specifically came to find me an hour early.”

“I… I…”

Mowan’s face turned red.

Yes.

Last night, Iserin had specifically told her that the Princess would only be late and never early.

She had still arrived at the Church an hour early.

If it wasn’t to see Iserin, was she there to whistle in the wind?

“After the Church work was finished, I came to your house to wait for you. I was worried you were troubled by what happened this morning. Looking at it now, it seems I was overthinking it, wasn’t I?”

“Yes… no, that’s not right. It’s my fault. No… I’m not wrong either. Anyway, it’s just… this morning, I just simply went to see you. It wasn’t that I wanted to talk to you. I didn’t mind if you ignored me.”

What on earth am I saying!

Mowan was certain that this was the most intense conflict between the left and right sides of her brain in both her past and present lives combined.

Iserin laughed softly.

Seeing Mowan in such distress, she stopped teasing her.

“How was today’s mission? Was it easy or difficult? Have you thought about how much of a reward you want?”