Maydare Volume 2 Chapter 3 - Those Who Protect the Savior II
Makia settles into her role of Guardian but of course things aren't going to go smoothly...
Miladriede in midsummer.
The bright sunshine further illuminated the colorful city buildings and decorations, as well as the sunflowers that bloomed here and there in this season, creating a gorgeous cityscape.
Today, I have been invited to a tea party by the Savior Airi. I took a gondola ride through the canals that ran between the buildings, walked in the shade, and headed towards the royal palace.
To enter the castle, you needed a special paper, and as a Guardian, I was provided with one.
It was my first time going up to the top floor of the North Palace where Miss Airi lived. Guards checked my paper many times…
As soon as I reached the top floor, a tall maid who I have never met before stood in front of me.
“Oh, um, I was summoned here by Lady Airi.”
“Lady Airi…? I was never told such a thing.”
She was wearing a black maid uniform, a white apron, and her hair neatly tucked into a white maid’s cap. She was the very picture of a maid.
But her eyes were sharp, her voice was husky, she was well-built, and there was a straight scar on her nose. It was incredible how not-respectable she looked…
“Ah, Miss Makia! Sorry, I overslept!”
I caught a glimpse of Miss Airi in her negligee flapping around behind the maid.
After changing quickly, she rushed out.
“Let me introduce you. This is Clarissa, the head maid who manages all my maids. She can do anything, she’s an amazing person. Maybe even a superhuman? She’s a bit of a nag, though.”
The head maid, Clarissa, still looked down at me with that intimidating air.
“I see. So you are the last Guardian, Lady Makia O’Drielle. I was hoping to teach you a few tips on how to serve Lady Airi.”
“Wait a minute, Clarissa, Miss Makia isn’t a maid, though!?”
“A Guardian is a faithful servant of the Savior. An existence who is worthless unless they can be close to Lady Airi and be useful to her under any circumstances. Even if you are the daughter of a noble family, you cannot disrespect Lady Airi or be selfish.”
This person must have been informed that I was a Guardian.
And then, there was that sharp gaze and way of speaking, like she was testing me. Was it that she didn’t have a good impression of noble ladies, or was it simply that she didn’t have a good impression of me?
As for me, well, I had free time during summer vacation, and I thought that a job experience as a maid didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
“But we’re having tea today! So hurry up and get it ready!”
Miss Airi tugged on my hand and led me to a spacious balcony that was for her personal use.
There was a white garden table there, where Miss Airi said she always had tea with the Guardians.
“Whew. Clarissa’s really hard-headed and extreme. Sorry about that, Miss Makia.”
“No, not at all…”
“You see, Clarissa’s really amazing! Apparently, she used to be the top magic soldier in the palace, and when a maid tried to assassinate me before, she put her life on the line to protect me. That wound on her nose came from that.”
As we sat at the garden table waiting for tea and snacks, Miss Airi rested her chin in her hands and talked about her trusted head maid.
Come to think of it, I might have heard the story before about how one of the maids tried to kill her…
I also listened to other stories about what incidents had been resolved and what the Savior and the Guardians overcame.
Her existence wasn’t announced until the summer ball, so not much was known about her activities until then. However, there were many things that happened.
They recovered jewels stolen from a museum in the royal capital from the thief, infiltrated a store that was scamming customers and exposed the evil deeds, and destroyed a bandit gang that attacked a nearby village…
“Thor, too, has helped me out a lot, even when I’ve been reckless. When I was kidnapped by a group of bandits before, he came to save me. He put his life on the line to protect me. He even got a scar on his back. He was so cool…”
“I...see.”
There were so many incidents and reasons for the wounds on Thor’s back.
They must have been painful. The fact that the wounds were still there meant that he must have been too busy to have the time to take care of them. Even though nowadays, we could do anything with magic and potions.
Just as I was clenching my fists in my lap and struggling to hide my mixed emotions, the maids arrived with a tea set.
A porcelain tea set from a purveyor patronized by the palace. First-class tea leaves. The composed maids began to make the black tea in front of us and placed a three-tiered stand with various sweets in the middle of the table.
They were sophisticated city sweets, different from the countryside sweets I usually ate.
There were juicy melon shortcakes, lemon pies (a specialty of the capital), orange peel chocolates, and cute madeleines* in the shape of various seashells.
Among them, there was a green cake that stood out from the rest.
“Wah, what a pretty green color.”
“Oh, yes! I recommend this pistachio mousse cake! It’s a traditional pastry of the Ruschia royal palace, and it’s served to foreign guests.”
“Certainly, pistachios are a specialty of Miladriede, along with lemons and olives.”
Apparently, this pistachio mousse cake was supposed to be served with raspberry sauce.
When I spread the bright red sauce from the accompanying bottle, the contrast between the vivid green and red was a feast for the eyes. I took a bite, and the rich and creamy pistachio mousse melted in my mouth with a rich aroma. What an exquisite moment.
The sweet and sour raspberry sauce complemented the elegant but often faint taste of the mousse, creating a delicious moment, like I was waking up.
“Amazing…”
Yes. That was all I could think to say.
“Fufufu. I was also shocked the first time I ate it. I’ve never had such a delicious cake in my old world. But sometimes I want to eat the food from there…”
Miss Airi sighed gloomily.
I knew exactly how she felt, but I pretended not to know and asked her.
“What kind of food from your old world do you want to eat?”
“Hmmm, I guess I’d have to go with rice. There are rice dishes in the Kingdom of Ruschia, but they’re a bit different from the ones in Japan. I want to eat sushi and curry rice.”
“...Sushi, and curry rice.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t know what I’m talking about, would you. I’m not really good at explaining them either, so the palace cooks are at a loss.”
“...”
No, I knew very well what she was talking about. The food from our old world, and that nostalgia.
It wasn’t until recently that I was able to get some rice, make some imitation umeboshi with plums, and somehow make umeboshi rice balls.
I wish I could eat sushi and curry rice.
However, I knew very well that it would be very difficult to eat them here in the Kingdom of Ruschia.
“Miss Airi, do you ever wish you could go back to your old world?”
I have always wondered that.
On that day, at that time, in that place, I was sure she had been stabbed and collapsed.
However, unlike me, it seemed that Miss Airi hadn’t been reincarnated into this world.
Towards my question, Miss Airi said,
“No. Not at all. It’s true that I sometimes miss the food, but I have much more fun in Maydare than in that world. This world is my ideal world. It’s the world I’ve always imagined, where everyone needs me…”
As she said this, her gaze dropped to the tea in front of her.
“But, isn’t there anyone waiting for you…”
“Miss Makia.”
Miss Airi called my name, as if to interrupt my words.
I was a little surprised, but she still had her bright smile on her face and said, “Isn’t it time to stop it with that formal speech? I want to be friends with you as equals.”
“Formal speech, you say?”
I wondered about that. I tried to imagine what it would be like when I stopped speaking formally…
“It will be a matter where I would get scolded by His Highness Gilbert.”
I turned pale, and Miss Airi tried desperately to persuade me.
“I’ll tell Gil about it too, so could you just call me Airi? I want to call you Makia too.”
“...But…”
“Makia is a strange name, but it has a wonderful ring to it. It sounds like a witch’s name.”
Come to think of it…
I remembered Tanaka-san, who was my best friend in my past life, telling me to call each other by our first names.
At that time, I had shaken my head and refused.
I didn’t let my best friend or my childhood friend call me by my first name. For some reason, I didn’t like my name because it didn’t feel right. But...I loved the name Makia.
“Understood. Then, when we are alone...please let me call you Airi.”
“Really!?”
“Yes. And please always call me Makia.”
With a big smile on her face, Miss Airi said, “Makia!”
She was adorable, like a friendly puppy.
“We’re going to be friends from now on, aren’t we! Please treat me well, Makia!”
“...”
Of course, she was just as charming and good at getting close to others as “Tanaka-san.”
That innocence seemed to have saved the past me, “Oda Kazuha,” a little bit, and I could faintly recall our friendship in my past life.
Because Airi’s childlike innocence and overly honest nature was something that the past life me, who lived a serious and rigid life, didn’t have.
As the Savior of another world, it could even seem holy and sacred.
“However, please allow me to use formal speech. I’m sure that His Highness Gilbert, who cares for you, will be more at ease if I do.”
“...I’m sorry, Makia. You must think Gil is a jerk, don’t you? He’s always picking on you.”
“W-Well, that’s…”
I couldn’t deny it. It was quite stressful to have so many things said to me every time we met.
“Gil certainly does seem hot-tempered, but he is also very serious, hard-working, single-minded, and sensitive. He’s distrustful because he knows there are some things he can’t protect without being suspicious of everything.”
She told me, gathering her eyebrows together and smiling while tucking her sidelocks behind her ear.
“I’ve been helped by Gil a lot too.”
Airi also trusted and understood Gil very well.
That was why Prince Gilbert cared for Airi so much.
Not because she was the Savior, but as a girl.
After tea, I was again led by Airi down the corridors of the palace.
“Hey, it’s the Leader. ‘Sup.”
From the other end of the corridor, a man I knew well came with an aimless gait.
“Frey, why are you here!?”
“Why, because I am the fifth prince, after all~.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
In our Garnet Team 9, he was the playboy who liked older women, so I had completely forgotten about it, but my classmate Frey Levi before me was the fifth prince of the Kingdom of Ruschia.
He had been hiding his identity at magic school, but it became public at the summer ball before, and now it seemed that he was returning to the palace during summer vacation for various reasons.
“Anyways, why are you here, Leader? Did you get summoned because of the ball thing?”
“T-That’s…”
The fact that the Guardian’s crest appeared on me was still supposed to be undisclosed for now.
However, he was the fifth prince. It was strange that I couldn’t tell him…
“Makia, Makia,” Airi tapped on my shoulder repeatedly from behind.
I hurriedly introduced Frey to her.
“I’m sorry, Airi. This is Frey. Ah, is it better to call him His Highness Frey?”
“Why is that a question?”
Frey poked my head lightly. Seeing this, Airi giggled.
She then folded her arms behind her back, looked up at the taller Frey and asked,
“You were one of the boys who saved me on that deserted island, weren’t you? You were with Makia.”
“Yes. I am the fifth prince of the Kingdom of Ruschia, Frey Levi Lu Ruschia. It is a pleasure to meet you again, Lady Savior Airi.”
Ooh. He was usually so lazy, but when he dressed like a prince and sharply behaved as befitting that rank, he seemed like a proper prince.
“Fufu. I never would have expected that you would be a prince of the Kingdom of Ruschia.”
“Well, I’m hardly ever in the palace, after all.”
Frey’s demeanour and language were still the same, which was a strange relief in the tense atmosphere of the palace.
It seemed that Airi also found him easy to talk to.
“Haa. I really want to get back to school as soon as possible.”
Suddenly, Frey sighed, put his back on the wall next to him, and began to complain.
“Nn? What’s wrong, Frey?”
“Well, my mother got banished from the palace, and I don’t have any supporters. Seriously, everyone’s cold to me. I’d rather be in magic school than here. It’s a hundred times better to have Nero, whose thin presence is comforting, or Miss Lapis, whose gaze is numbing like she’s looking at raw garbage, or the conceited but sometimes useful Leader.”
“Hmm? What did you say about me just now?”
“I complimented you for being useful. Aaaah, I can’t wait for summer vacation to be over.”
Uh, I don’t think those were words of praise.
But it was true that I was curious about what Nero and Lapis were doing now. I wondered if they were spending time with their families. I couldn’t wait to see them.
“Ah, Gil!”
Both Frey and I jerked our shoulders up at Airi’s cheerful voice.
Because we sensed from the feeling of hostility that was approaching our backs that Prince Gilbert was barging down the hallway towards us.
That’s right. Prince Gilbert hated me and his half brother, Frey.
“Hello, Gil! You’ve been busy lately, but can you be with us today?”
“I’m sorry, Airi. I have to go back in a little while. I have been entrusted with the preparations for the allied nation conference that is to be held in our country.”
He touched Airi’s shoulder, having a sweet expression on his face in front of her and speaking to her gently, but…
He glared at us with naked hatred.
“Frey, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Nothing really. I was just having a nice conversation with the Lady Savior and my team leader, you know?”
Frey was also Frey, with his instigating tone.
“That attitude of yours. I cannot stand that attitude of yours, Frey! A frivolous and insolent man like you should not be flitting about Airi!”
“Flitting? Don’t talk about people like they’re a fly, please. You’re still a pain in the ass, as ever.”
Frey looked sideways at his own brother as he brushed his bangs up.
“Not just me, you were also picking on Miss Makia over there and that knight who used to be a slave. You really are easy to understand, Brother.”
“W...What!?”
“All the people you’re hostile towards have a bit of a problem with their birth, but they have outstanding abilities. Your royal pride and inferiority complex got jumbled together, and jealousy turned into anger. Anyways, why are you a Guardian? You can’t use magic at all…”
“Shut up!”
Prince Gilbert grabbed Frey. Frey looked at him with an indifferent expression.
It looked like a full-blown fight was about to start. I was anxious, but…
“The two of you, stop it.”
Airi stopped them with a voice that sounded no different than usual.
“Be nice to each other. For my sake, okay?”
“Airi…”
Before I knew it, a group of onlooking palace servants had gathered around us.
Prince Gilbert and Frey looked like they still wanted to say something to each other, but they couldn’t in front of Airi’s innocent smile. Amazing…
Even though the argument between the two princes was over, the onlookers remained, buzzing about it. At that moment…
“Milady, milady. Sensing water magic, poyo.”
“...What?”
Before I knew it, Popotarou was perched on my shoulder, staring in a certain direction.
I turned my gaze in that direction as well. In the crowd, I saw something glittering.
Immediately, a strong feeling of fear struck me, and I shouted,’
“Airi, get down!”
I pushed Airi’s back. Right after that, a thin knife-like object streaked right by me.
The knife transformed into light vapor behind me, scattering and disappearing into the air.
That spell was a small magic knife that left no evidence, the “mist blade.”
It was an advanced 【Water】magic used by magicians for assassination, and poisons could also be dissolved into the liquid that made up the mist.
For a moment, the water’s intense “hostility” that assailed my body made me shiver and gave me goosebumps.
I managed to order Popotarou to “follow the traces of water magic.” Popotarou replied, “Roger,” and slipped through the crowd. Don’t get stepped on, okay?
“No one move! The criminal is mixed in among the crowd!”
Prince Gilbert’s voice resounded. He was shouting for everyone present to be arrested.
The corridor of the palace fell into chaos.
“Leader! Oi, are you alright?”
Surprisingly, Frey ran up to me, worried.
“I’m fine. It just grazed my sleeve.”
“But you’re shaking terribly, though.”
“I guess this is my body’s rejection towards unexpected water magic. See, it’s because I’m blessed by 【Fire】. But putting that aside, Lady Airi…”
Airi was staring at me with a pale face, but then her face twisted and she gripped the skirt of her school uniform.
“You didn’t have to save me…”
“...Huh?”
“I’m not going to die! I didn't want that kind of thing from you, Makia!”
“...”
There was a hint of anger in her voice.
I was confused about the meaning of her words, and then I saw a stream of blood coming down my arm...
Even though I was completely fine a second ago, I suddenly lost the strength in my body and collapsed on the spot.
“Oi, Leader! Leader!”
Somehow, I could hear Frey’s voice.
From where I was lying on the floor, I could see the long blonde hair and emerald dress peeking at us from the corner of a distant corridor. That person left, as though escaping from here.
It was...Beatrice Asta.
“Aaah. It was my favorite dress. I’ll have to mend it once I get back.”
My sleeve was cleanly cut off. As I walked home along the main streets of the capital, I touched the cut part of my sleeve and remembered what happened before.
I woke up right after that, in the infirmary.
The mist blade that grazed my arm didn’t contain any poison, and it seemed that I had just fainted from the shock.
The palace was still in turmoil, and the guards were frantically searching for the person who tried to kill Airi. However, the culprit still hadn’t been found yet.
Airi was a bit shaken, and Clarissa, the head maid, took her to a safe place, where she was being closely guarded by the assembled Guardians.
I’m sure they were in great shock. More than that, though…
“Why...was Airi so angry?”
Gong...gong...gong…
My muttering was drowned out by the ringing of the heavy bells that announced the evening hour in Miladriede. Perhaps startled by the sound, white doves danced into the crimson sky.
It was the sound of Diemo Cathedral’s bells.
That was the place where we found Frey on the rooftop and scouted him before.
“The cathedral…”
Normally, I would just pass by, but for some reason, at this moment, I decided to go into the cathedral.
There were some pent-up feelings in my heart, and I was feeling a vague anxiety. I wanted to clear my mind, and I also wanted some kind of answer or guidance.
The doors were open, and I stepped into the cathedral.
The inside was very spacious, with a high ceiling and a holy atmosphere with incense burning.
There were people sitting here and there, all of them with their eyes closed and fingers clasped in prayer.
It was dark and quiet. No one cared about my presence. It was very calming.
“...”
The stained glass of the rose window, where the evening sun was shining in, had a base tone of Miladriede blue, and it was casting light in the shape of the window and its various colors on the dark floor. It was waiting for me along with silence.
I stood on the floor where the bright light settled and looked up at the rose window.
A large flower blooming in the dark. It was also said to signify the shape of the world called Maydare.
Or perhaps it was the eye of something exceedingly exalted. Although I wasn’t a zealous Vabelist, I certainly did feel a kind of holy gaze.
“This Diemo Cathedral is a temple that is dedicated to the god of law and order, 〈Para Tritania〉.”
A voice broke the silence from behind me and I turned around, startled.
Right in the shadow of a pillar stood a bishop.
He was wearing magnificent white bishop’s vestments, a long grey sash around his neck, and a mitre with a thin veil on his head.
And the fact that he was holding a rather unusual crosier with a curved head. Having a crosier suggested that he might be a bishop of high rank.
However, I could hardly see his face. The bishop hadn’t stepped out of the shadows.
“A Lune Ruschia student, eh? Your mind’s a mess, isn’t it. What’s bothering ya? Ha, it’s probably just shitty love troubles anyway. Other than that, there’s nothing I ain’t gonna listen to.”
“...Okay?”
His un-bishop-like foul mouth had me tilting my head in confusion, wondering if I was hearing him wrong. Was this person really a bishop?
“Hmm? Your arm’s hurt, isn’t it? That injury looks like a sharp knife was thrown at you. You’re a brat, but it looks like you got your life threatened like a grown up.”
“Eh, ah…”
The bishop was pointing at my torn sleeve. This person had a sharp eye.
“The one who was threatened...is more accurately my master, I should say.”
I said vaguely, and the bishop snickered.
“I see. So you protected them.”
“...Protected…?”
In the midst of this exchange, I suddenly found myself thinking.
At that time, my body moved reflexively.
Was it because Airi was my best friend in my past life…?
Or was it because Airi was the Savior? Because I was her Guardian?
I don’t want that to happen to you, Makia. She said that.
Then what exactly did Airi want for me?
“Hmm. Troubled lamb, be greatly troubled. Worry and worry, and when it’s finally boiling and the lamb is baked in a pan, I’ll serve it with delicious balsamic sauce.”
“...Are Vabelist clergymen allowed to eat meat?”
“Hah? ‘Course it is. Can’t train your body if you can’t eat meat or fish. You can’t get strong. What the hell are you talking about. Well, I’m already the strongest of the strong.”
“...”
Was it necessary for a bishop of the church to train his body and become the strongest?
“Oh, that’s it! All your problems will be solved by working out. It’s a stress reliever. Eat meat and fish and do muscle training. That’s my teaching. Kuhahahahaha!”
“Ah, it’s okay. I understand. Thank you very much.”
What’s with this muscle-headed bishop? Please don’t laugh so loudly in a sanctuary.
I glanced at the door, hoping to find an opportunity to leave or something.
“Hey, you. Come back here if anything else happens. The sanctuary will always receive those who seek help. However, if fools who have fallen down the wrong path, or any shitty bastards who are completely beyond saving, I’ll kill them myself. That is ‘Mea Dea.” That’s true salvation. Kukuku...kuhahaha!”
The bishop was the one who walked away while laughing a distinctive evil laugh. He was stabbing his crosier on the floor violently as he did so.
I thought that bishops were all well-behaved saints on the outside, even if you didn't know what they were thinking. This was the first time I met a bishop who seemed to be trouble right on the outside.
But somehow, even with a sermon like that, my heart lightened a bit.
I thought about doing some muscle training when I had spare time.
“Uwah…”
When I exited the cathedral, I saw a dark orange streak of light across the sky that had become a gradation of purple and dark blue. It was very beautiful, somewhat nostalgic, and sad…
I suddenly felt the end of summer.
thanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteThis bishop is sus. I can't wait for the next update. Thank you for the chapter!
ReplyDelete