Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

3. Recruitment of the Saintess (3)

Translated by: S3

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When Lily entered the room Noah had guided her to, two women were already seated. The women, who were a little older than her, fixed their attention on Lily, who had entered last.

「Hello. Are you a Saint Candidate too? I’m Poppy. Nice to meet you.」

Poppy, who had unusual hair that transitioned from blonde to pink, spoke to her in a friendly manner.

(Poppy-san is, if I recall correctly, the Carcoss Baron’s daughter. She was originally a commoner adopted into the family. In that case, the other one must be the Gold Duke’s daughter—)

「…And your name is?」

The beautiful blue-haired young lady narrowed her sharp eyes and let her gaze drift up and down, sizing Lily up.

Olivia Gold, the Duke's daughter, was the person of the highest noble rank among the three of them.

「How do you do? My name is Lily. Olivia-sama, Poppy-sama. I look forward to working with you.」

Lily, who had been told their ranks and names by Noah in advance, finished her greeting and took the empty seat.

(For now, I'll keep a low profile and only answer what I’m asked. I won't initiate conversation. If anything troublesome happens, I’ll give an ambiguous reply and report it to Cousin Noah—)

Since there was no time between yesterday and today, this was the plan Lily and Noah had devised to get through the briefing.

If she could just make it through, she wouldn't have to go to the castle for a while, citing spending time with her family as a reason.

As if to betray Lily's wishes, Poppy aggressively closed the distance.

「Where are you from, Lily-chan? I haven’t seen you at the academy, so did you come from the provinces?」

The royal capital had a three-year school for nobles, which students entered from the age of fifteen. Lily had not yet reached the enrollment age.

「I’ll be thirteen. I came here under the guardianship of the Tinam Count.」

「Oh my! The Tinam Count. Then you know Noah-sama? We’re in the same class. Ah, Arthur-denka and Olivia-sama are there too.」

「Is that so?」

「Also, in the light magic exam results, I was number one and Olivia-sama was second. Everyone else was much lower, apparently. Speaking of which, I didn't see you during the test.」

Was her close personal distance due to her commoner background? Lily had interacted with people of all ranks, from the Border Count to privately-employed commoner soldiers, at the Western Fortress, but a first meeting was never this close.

「Um. I see—is that so?」

「Hehe. Did you take it separately, maybe? I’m curious about your test results, Lily-chan.」

「Is that—so?」

Lily gave noncommittal replies to a conversation where she couldn't tell if she was being talked at or asked a direct question.

「Poppy-san. You are confusing Lily-san. Furthermore, the difference in ability between myself and Poppy-san is negligible. The ranking is essentially meaningless. Would you please refrain from talking to everyone you meet about it? It is unpleasant.」

「Oh, I’m sorry. I get so happy because I rarely excel over Olivia-sama.」

There was no malice in Poppy's bright smile. However, Olivia, who was glaring at Poppy, made no attempt to conceal her hostility.

(Ah, they don't get along.)

Lily correctly and accurately understood the relationship between the two older women.

She was certain that Poppy didn't like Olivia either—in fact, she was probably in the category of people she disliked.

Just then, the door rattled open, and the person in charge entered. Instantly, the tense atmosphere in the room vanished. Both Olivia and Poppy were seated, facing forward as if nothing had happened.

「Everyone is present. Then, we will now begin the explanation for the Saint Candidates.—」

With the opening words from the person in charge, the very long briefing began.

Lily trudged out of the room, clutching a thick pile of documents.

Looking left and right, she saw Noah standing against the wall. However, Poppy was in front of Noah, talking to him earnestly about something. Lily sent a look towards Noah, and though their eyes met, the conversation wasn't over, so it seemed she couldn't leave yet.

(It can’t be helped. I’ll just have to wait until they finish…)

She moved to the wall and re-adjusted the documents she was holding. Lily, who was accustomed to moving around constantly, was not used to sitting for a long time listening to explanations.

Because of this, she was tired, her head felt fuzzy, and she was warm.

Out of habit, she put her hand in her pocket, took out a hard candy she always carried, and put it in her mouth. It was an unladylike act, but she was tired and wanted to replenish the sugar to her brain. Besides, no one was around, so it was fine—

「What are you doing?」

Lily jumped at the sound of a voice coming from the opposite direction of Noah and at an extremely close distance.

She hastily pulled her hand out of her pocket, and a hard candy rolled out onto the floor at her feet.

「Did I surprise you?」

The speaker was suddenly standing beside Lily. He wasn't wearing the knight's uniform seen around the castle, nor the civil servant's uniform she'd seen at the briefing.

Golden hair and not in uniform—he was probably a member of the royal family or a person of high birth.

「No. Not at all.」

「You seem to have dropped something.」

As she was scrambling to pick up the candy after his comment, she was horrified by Poppy’s voice, which suddenly rang out from behind her.

「Ah! Arthur-denka. Good day.」

(Arthur-denka! T-t-the Crown Prince!)*

She thought he was a person of high nobility, but the Crown Prince was a surprise. After all, he was standing alone without any attendants.

While Lily was still stunned, Poppy instantly moved in front of Arthur and began talking rapidly.

「Lily, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Wait, what are you picking up?」

「Ah, I dropped a candy, so I was picking it up.」

Before Lily could finish speaking, Noah's eyes narrowed subtly.

He probably realized she had put the candy in her mouth, too. Since this was an unladylike act, she was definitely in for a lecture.

「Your Highness, I was just about to take Lily back—」

「Noah. You escort the Carcoss Baron's daughter.」

Lily looked up at Noah, then at Arthur and Poppy in surprise. Poppy’s cheeks were puffed out in displeasure.

「Arthur-denka, I haven’t finished reporting on my work.」

「Today was only supposed to be the explanation and work assignments. I will receive your report in writing from tomorrow onwards.」

Arthur, wishing to cut short the conversation with Poppy, sent a look to Noah. Noah quickly slid between Arthur and Poppy.

「Understood. I will take my leave now. Poppy-san, this way.」

Watching Noah walk away with Poppy, Lily, whose brain was finally getting a surge of sugar, blinked.

(Why am I the one being left behind?)

She looked up at Arthur, wondering, but he averted his gaze, so she couldn't read his expression.

After a strange silence, Arthur cleared his throat.

「I believe we have not yet formally introduced ourselves.」

「! I am Lily, the niece of the Tinam Count and Noah’s cousin.」

Following Arthur’s prompt, Lily stated her rank and performed a curtsy on the spot, but she failed spectacularly as both her hands were full.

It was too late to worry about it, but she was full of unladylike blunders.

「I am Arthur Aurum. The Crown Prince of this country.」

After they introduced themselves, a strange silence fell again.

「Lily. If your schedule is free after this, would you mind accompanying me for a bit?」

「Yes, I’d be delighted.」

There was no other answer she could possibly give. Lily followed behind Arthur and started walking down the long corridor.

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