The Fierce Saintess

episode 23

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「Greedy... impudent... Why would you say such terrible things?」

The young woman lowered her head for a moment as she spoke. When she looked back up, tears welled in her eyes, and she clasped her hands together even tighter. Seeing those tears, the surrounding soldiers and elderly women glared at Princess Kana in unison, but there was no way such a glare could intimidate the Princess.

「It is only natural. Though we are pressed for time, we still took it upon ourselves to exterminate the magic beasts that breached this town and purify the miasma pool that spawned them. Yet far from offering any gratitude, you demand that we have *not* *done* *enough* and that we *must* *work* *even* *more*. What is that, if not greed?」

At the Princess's exasperated words, the townspeople who had been watching the maiden with admiration until just moments ago began murmuring to one another, realizing that when put that way, the Princess was entirely correct.

「Th-the mayor already expressed our thanks to the subjugation unit commander! And calling it a demand... I was simply making a heartfelt plea...」

「*That* is precisely what makes it impudent. You lack even the self-awareness to realize that you merely utter 'pleas' with lip service while foisting all the gratitude and actual work onto others. Is that not right, Burley? If magic beasts disappeared simply because one 'pleaded' for it, nothing in this world would be easier.」

Furthermore, people of her sort tend to act as though 'the credit belongs to me because I pleaded for it,' which makes them all the more insufferable, the Princess chuckled softly.

「Indeed,」

Suppressing a laugh, the subjugation unit commander agreed before taking over the conversation.

「Furthermore, My Lady, I apologize, but we move by royal decree of Her Majesty the Queen and His Highness the Prince. It is only logical that we prioritize their orders first.」

However, she was hardly the sort of person who listened to reason; wrapped in a cloak of 'good intentions,' she grew increasingly desperate to force her own 'selfish convenience' upon them.

「Are you saying it's fine to abandon the people suffering right in front of your eyes just because you have a royal decree?! That's horrible! Besides, to feel nothing upon seeing injured people... are you really still a Saintess?!」

Exasperated by the maiden, who presumptuously tried to impose her arbitrary assumption that 'if one is a Saintess, she must heal every injured person' while hurling guilt-tripping words to test her conscience, the Princess noticed a few townspeople carrying water drawn from a well. She gestured toward them as she spoke.

「Tell me, o maiden. If you desire so strongly to help those before your eyes, why do you not do a bit of work yourself? Standing around dressed in fine clothes contributes nothing. Look there—go carry some water like them.」

Unsurprisingly, those words were a far cry from the response the young lady had hoped for, causing her to flare up with even greater indignation as she snapped at the Princess.

「Such work is hardly fitting for a noble lady! Besides, I am saying that you are using a 'royal decree' as an excuse to neglect your duty as a Saintess. Stop twisting the conversation!」

「The one twisting the conversation is you. As I stated moments ago, I purified the miasma pool, and Burley and his men exterminated the magic beasts, did we not? Yet despite that, you claim that we have failed to fulfill our duties.」

Princess Kana spoke slowly, as if admonishing a young child, raising her voice deliberately so that the townspeople watching nearby could hear every word. Then, raising one hand, she pointed into the distance.

「In places far from here, simply because they are out of sight, countless people are suffering at this very moment. The one blinded by immediate self-interest is you. After all, you blithely claim that *just* *because* *you* *cannot* *see* *places* *in* *far* *worse* *states* *than* *this*, *it* *is* *fine* *to* *push* *them* *aside* *until* *later*.」

「I never said anything like that!」

Desperate to maintain her stance as a 'good person,' the maiden vehemently denied the Princess's words, but by now, not only the townspeople but even the soldiers accompanying her were casting suspicious, dubious glances in her direction. And then—

「That is enough, Bernetta! Have you no shame?!」

A furious yell echoed from behind Princess Kana.

When the Princess turned around, she saw a tall man with dark brown hair and gray eyes hastening toward them alongside a woman with very similar facial features.

「Brother Ashton... Sister Audra, too...」

From that murmur, it was clear that the two were the maiden's elder siblings.

(Their demeanor is vastly different for sisters...)

Reaching Princess Kana and Burley, the two grabbed the arms of the maiden named Bernetta and the old woman beside her, pulling them back before bowing deeply.

「I presume you are Commander Burley of the subjugation unit. I am Ashton, acting head of the House of Earl Owsley. I offer my sincere gratitude for your efforts in subjugating the magic beasts and purifying the miasma pool in our domain despite your urgent schedule.」

Having said that much, the man glared at the maiden and old woman he had pulled back, then turned back to the Princess and her companions to bow once more.

「Despite your help, it seems my younger sister has spoken to you with utmost disrespect. I offer my deepest apologies.」

「I am Audra. It seems she has caused immense trouble for your ladyship as well. Truly, I do not even know how to apologize...」

Both offered their apologies in unison.

Realizing that at least some among them were capable of reasonable conversation, the Princess posed a question to the man to confirm her suspicion.

「Before that, let me ask one thing. There was a young man who looked very much like that maiden. Is he also your sibling?」

「If you mean that, it must be Brine, Bernetta's twin brother. Has my younger brother done something as well...?」

Hearing that they were twins, Princess Kana was convinced.

「Just a little while ago, yes. Because he interfered with the purification of the miasma pool, I had him bound together with the others. The cold and numbness will not fade for some time, but well, he shall not die.」

She summarized the previous event. Upon hearing it, the elder brother and sister exchanged grim, sour expressions before bowing together for a third time.

「Purification... then your ladyship must be the Saintess...」「「We are deeply, deeply sorry...」」

「Well, very well. My name is Kana. I shall accept your apology. However, the behavior and words of your younger brother and sister were excessively offensive. Henceforth, you are forbidden from ever bringing them into my presence again. Bear this in mind.」

Everyone present realized that this was tantamount to declaring that they were barred not only from attending royal events like the upcoming coronation ceremony, but even from setting foot in the royal palace itself. Yet Ashton immediately accepted it.

「...Understood. It shall be done.」

「Brother! But that means...」

The maiden named Bernetta raised her voice, but under her brother's harsh glare, she had no choice but to fall silent, glaring resentment at the Princess instead.

(Hmph. As I thought, this is her true nature.)

「Princess, shall I freeze her as well?」

「Shall I slice her to pieces?」

At the maiden's attitude, the white foxes, who had remained silent until now, voiced their shared displeasure.

「Such a small fry is not worth your effort, so leave her be. However, if you see her a second time, do as you please.」

At the Princess's words, the white foxes looked at each other and grinned broadly.

「「Next time, then.」」

Detecting something slightly ominous in Suou and Kaou's demeanor, Burley felt a fleeting pang of pity for the twins. Still, figuring there would be no issue as long as they behaved themselves, he merely gave the elder siblings a word of warning for good measure.

「Lord Owsley. We have lit a signal fire where your younger brother is, so you will easily find him if you head toward it. Furthermore, we will pass through here again on our return to the royal capital. At that time, we plan to purify the miasma pools in this domain but understand that it will not be 'all' of them—only those beyond your capacity to handle. And please understand that our priority remains the royal decree and the severity of damage elsewhere.」

「I understand.」

「Listen, maiden. The lady of Clutchfield prepared meals for her soldiers and people with her own hands and changed her child's diapers. To me, she was far more beautiful than you in your fine attire.」

「Indeed. That lady was filled with deep affection and grace. One could truly call her a holy mother.」

The members of the subjugation unit agreed with Princess Kana's sentiment, but the maiden remained sullen, not even bothering to reply.

「Now then, we have delayed long enough. Let us hurry.」

Promising the reasonable siblings that they would visit again another day, the Princess and her party departed the scene.

Their journey proceeded smoothly after that, and about four hours later, the capital of Egerton came into view.

During their travel, as far as could be seen from the sky, while not as severe as Clutchfield, villages and fields were devastated, with carcasses of livestock scattered everywhere from the attacks.

However, the soldiers fighting near the defensive wall appeared relatively energetic, and the Princess noticed that the wall here was slightly different from those she had seen before.

A row of sharp iron spears was lined up along the top of the wall.

(It resembles anti-climbing spikes...)

When she inquired about it with Burley, he explained that large insect-type magic beasts frequently appeared in this region. Furthermore, those iron spears were detachable and had oil prepared at their tips.

Therefore, if magic beasts crawling up the defensive wall attempted to scale past the spears, soldiers would ignite the oil using special tools or fire magic, then shove both spear and monster off the wall back down to the ground. What was more, they would meticulously drop additional ignited iron spears onto them from above.

「Many insect-type magic beasts are poisonous, so this is a clever measure to defeat them without touching them if possible.」

(Come to think of it, large spiders and centipedes were depicted in that encyclopedia...)

Recalling the illustrations in the encyclopedia while listening to Burley's admiring explanation, Princess Kana understood completely. Indeed, even the Princess had no desire to draw near to giant poisonous spiders or centipedes.

Deciding to eliminate the root cause first, the Princess instructed Suou and Burley's group to notify the domain lord of their arrival and join the battle, while she ascended higher into the sky to immediately identify the largest miasma pool and deal with it first.

「Kaou, you may be weary, but I rely upon you.」

「Leave it to me, Princess!」

First, Kaou surrounded the perimeter of the miasma pool with walls of ice. And then—

(Given this size, this will be fastest.)

She drew forth the Ame-no-Makako-yumi and Ame-no-Habaya. Equipping the cloth liner and shooting glove onto her right hand, she took her archery stance while reciting the Mantra of Marishiten.

「On marishei sowaka, on marishei sowaka」

As she chanted, she raised the bow aloft and drew the string back smoothly.

「On marishei sowaka!」

Reciting it for the third time, she unleashed the arrow straight toward the center!

***

(How did things turn out like this?)

Brine thought to himself while soaking in a hot bath. Even though his body should have been thoroughly warmed, the chill deep within his core showed no signs of fading, leaving him unable to step out of the bath for a long time.

When a messenger arrived early this morning reporting that a new miasma pool had formed, Brine, who happened to be present, thought it was his chance.

He reasoned that if he could handle it cleanly before word reached his elder brother, he could secure a letter of recommendation to join the Order of Knights. To enter the Order, one had to either pass the entrance exam or obtain a recommendation letter from the domain lord or their proxy.

Brine believed his abilities were more than sufficient for a knight, but he refused to stoop to something as unseemly as taking an exam alongside commoners.

However, no matter how many times he begged, his brother refused to write a recommendation letter for Brine, saying, "If you want to become a knight, pass the entrance exam." This was despite the fact that not a single soldier in the domain could defeat Brine in a spar.

(Still, with this, Brother will have no choice but to write it. No, even if Brother doesn't, Father surely will!)

Thinking so, he had rushed into action.

He told the messenger that he would inform his brother himself, then gathered his close soldier and mage companions to head directly for the miasma pool.

Though Bernetta annoyingly tagged along, he sent her toward the town out of danger and headed triumphantly toward the miasma pool, only for the outcome to be an utter disaster.

(Damn it! If that woman in the strange outfit hadn't gotten in the way, by now... And to think *that* is the Saintess?! Who could believe such an arrogant woman is the Saintess! On top of that, she supposedly said she found me unpleasant and demanded I never show my face again. How dare she make a fool of me!)

In a fit of rage, he slammed both fists into the bathwater, but hot water splashed over his face and head, only making him even more miserable. Yet he couldn't stop. He struck the water again and again, stopping only after soaking the surrounding area completely.

「Hey! Add more hot water!」

Ordering the servant waiting nearby, he sank back into the lowered water level. His mind was consumed with a single thought: he had to find a way to take that Saintess down a peg.

(Still, her fox was amazing. If I stole that from her, she'd be mortified. What's more, if I tame it properly, I could become the kingdom's one and only sky-riding knight! How can I get my hands on it...? They said they'd stop by on their way back. Then I need to come up with a plan by then...)

*****

Just like the famous sage of the past said.

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