Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

30. Epilogue

Translated by: S3 

 


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*****

The warehouse at the northern edge of the castle grounds was, as usual, dim and damp. Lily carried several weapons, such as longswords and daggers, out of the warehouse after their decursing was complete and began drawing the holy symbols. When she finished, she placed them in a wooden crate in the empty warehouse next door and went back for the next batch. It was a familiar job, but what was different this time was the constant rotation of light mages coming to the warehouse. A recent council was held with both the Dragonewt and Beast Tribes to discuss future extermination efforts for the monsters still lurking nearby. The consensus was unanimous: to hunt the monsters in the Prata Mountain Range, the Holy Aurum Kingdom, and the Nogrey Forest Sea. However, the smooth sailing ended there; the concrete plans for the extermination became a point of contention. Originally, the humans, having caused the problem, offered to take responsibility and handle the response, but both the Beast Tribe and the Dragonewt Tribe refused. They insisted on clearing their own territories themselves. They welcomed assistance but did not want to leave the entire task to others. Yet, when they tried to begin the hunt, neither nation possessed effective weapons. The Dragonewts’ only method was to drive the monsters from the mountains toward the Holy Aurum Kingdom and annihilate them using dragon fire, which would also affect the surrounding land. The Beast Tribe, when transforming into wolves to fight, would have their bodies corroded by the curse. Other than that, they only had strategies like driving the monsters away with blunt instruments or farming tools. This was obviously problematic, so the Holy Aurum Kingdom decided to provide weapons free of charge, which the various tribes would then use for the extermination. By offering the weapons as compensation, everything was settled amicably. As for the weapons to be used for the extermination, a large quantity of weapons that Lily had decursed as part of her Saint Candidate job were already stored in the warehouse, so they decided to put them to good use. By drawing the holy symbols on them and applying purification magic (Clear), any monster that touches them will be easily purged, which is a perfect solution. The original materials were free. Moreover, the light mages who were relieved from maintaining the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall were now applying the purification magic. Consequently, Lily was busy drawing holy symbols on longswords and daggers every day.


「Even so, I haven’t seen Lady Olivia or Lady Poppy at the castle at all.」

Lily had consulted with Arthur about having them help out as part of their Saint Candidate work, given the sheer volume, but for some reason, he refused.

「He told me, ‘Lily, please proceed as the main person in charge.’ That’s so weird!」

Well, she was provided with light mages who had free time, so it was fine, but it was still strange. For her lunch break, she still ate only with Arthur. Gin, who almost always accompanied her, would disappear somewhere only during this time. When she pressed him for the reason—

「I don’t want to be kicked to death by a horse」

—he gave her some incomprehensible excuse and evaded the question. After lunch, Lily headed to Daniel’s office. Speaking of which, Elliot had returned to his own country once, but— 「Hello, Lily. Good afternoon」

—he was in Daniel's office so frequently that Lily saw him at least once a week. 「Elliot. You’re back again? Did you get permission from your parents?」 「Yes. I’m scheduled to come here as an exchange student soon, as part of the Holy Aurum Kingdom’s exchange program」 If he’s practically living here, there’s no need for an exchange program, Lily thought. Both Gin and Elliot were very fond of Daniel’s office, and their personal belongings were gradually accumulating there. 「Actually, I’m having the room directly across from this one renovated to be usable. Once it’s done, we’ll move again, and this room will be even bigger」 It seemed Daniel also liked the two boys, as his office was cluttered, though in a different way than before. Lily pretended not to see the small ball rolling in the corner of the room. Daniel’s job was to create a new royal capital defense plan to replace the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, and Lily was assisting him. However, since Gin and Elliot were there, they constantly got sidetracked, so they weren't making any progress at all. Today, for instance, they were having an enthusiastic discussion about how each of their people were born.

「Beastfolk are born in big litters, so we all take turns nursing and caring for them. I get handed one every year to look after. Our mothers have a really hard time with childbirth, so they recuperate at home to recover quickly. We just go to show them the baby's face and get a pat. Childbirth is a really big job, you know!」 「Humans usually only have one. Twins or triplets are rare, but they happen sometimes. My mom raised me, but some families hire wet nurses」 「Dragonewts are born from eggs. Childbirth is sacred, so only a limited number of court ladies are allowed inside. The eggs are placed in baby beds and cared for by designated maids. Family members are allowed to visit, but the eggs are carefully guarded in the depths of the castle until they hatch, you see」 They were all so different that everyone was surprised. Daniel listened to their stories with sparkling eyes. According to him, he enjoyed it because he could hear many valuable and true stories that were far better than the information written in books. At three o'clock, a maid would bring in a wagon with their afternoon snacks. Daniel, who used to be misanthropic and kept everyone away, had arranged for snacks to be delivered for Lily, Gin, and Elliot. And now, Arthur started showing up quite frequently at that time. When Arthur appeared, Daniel, Gin, and Elliot would take their snack plates and move to the adjacent library. When Lily asked them why—

「「It can’t be helped, they are Life Partners」」 —they evaded the question again. What is a Life Partner? 「Your Highness, are you sure it’s alright for you to sneak out of your office? If it’s work, I can come to your room instead」 「It's fine, I have Noah covering for me. Besides, that room has too many interruptions, so I can't relax there」 Incidentally, Noah was currently busy turning away Dylan, who had barged in again. 「Speaking of which, the next festival is the Summer Solstice Festival」 「That’s right. The Summer Solstice Festival is lively with all the lanterns and fireworks, isn’t it?」 「Let me give this to you beforehand」

Arthur handed a small box to Lily. Talk of the Summer Solstice Festival and a present— 「Your Highness, don’t tell me the contents are...」 「Yes. I thought we could walk together during the Summer Solstice Festival」

She hesitantly opened the box, and just as she suspected, it contained a necklace. She wished that both Noah and Arthur would stop easily giving her jewelry every time they made plans for a festival. Even though she knew it had no deep meaning, Lily, who was not used to the games of romance, felt her cheeks heat up immediately. 「There is no deep meaning, is there? Thank you」

She pouted, figuring he was probably just teasing her, same as Noah. 「Now, I wonder about that」

He said that with a beautiful smile, raising the corner of his mouth just slightly, and Lily’s face turned bright red. (He is just teasing me after all. How mean!)

—And so, Lily's daily life was hectic, fun, and full of interesting events, so she never ran out of things to write about in her letters to Adam and Emma. A reply arrived from the Eastern Fortress to Lily’s thick letter. It stated that the Eastern Fortress remained peaceful and unchanged for now. 「That’s good! In that case, I'll level up a little more in the royal capital and surprise Dad and Mom」 The sky over the royal capital continued to be a clear, transparent blue today. Facing her parents, who must be under the same sky, Lily smiled and said: 「It’s not like I want to be a Saint, but… I think I’ll continue my job as a Saint Candidate in the royal capital for a little longer」


*****

TL note: Okay, That's the first arc ending. There is still more but honestly I'd prefer to do other title that I already have in mind so unless someone made one single comment of me to continue, I will end it here for now. 


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