“You’re always so dramatic,” Zophia pointed out.
“Can’t say it’s good to see you again,” Lynga muttered.
“Just as things were starting to get peaceful,” Loewe lamented.
“Silence, demi-human chieftains! I could arrest you for interfering with official duties!”
It seemed Krishna and the demi-humans continued to not get along...despite having once linked arms long enough to sing together at the hot springs resort.
Zenos stepped between them and said, “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you around lately, Krishna.”
“Excuse me? I tried to visit your clinic, and often!” Krishna protested. “I just...usually had trouble finding it, since my sense of direction is terrible...”
“Oh, right. That’s a thing.”
“And when I did manage to get there, you were always out! I thought you were avoiding me! I cannot tell you how many pillows I soaked with tears...”
“Sorry about that... I’ve been really busy.”
Zenos had been appointed to an academy for nobles, sent out to a remote region to hunt beasts, and forced to apply for border patrol duty—indeed, he’d been away a lot as of late.
“I see,” Krishna said. “But I believe our time apart has only strengthened our bond!”
“It’s good to be optimistic,” Zenos remarked, turning his gaze toward the mountains the other knights had ridden off to. Then, in a casual attempt to gather information, he asked, “Anyway, those guys sure looked like they had chips on their shoulders. What was that about?”
Krishna tilted her head. “To be honest, I am not quite certain myself.” The vice commander of the Royal Guard crossed her arms, looking displeased, her blonde hair swaying in the wind. “We have been given the order to secure a girl with pale pink hair in a maid’s outfit unharmed. We do not know where the order came from, nor do we know the purpose of the mission or the reasoning behind it. It is quite strange. But...I have a guess.”
Zenos listened intently.
“Despite being vice commander, I was given no details. All I know is that the target must be secured unharmed, and that he is involved.”
“He who?” Zenos asked.
“The man on horseback giving commands earlier. He was introduced to us as a substitute commander from another branch, but I am familiar with him through an acquaintance. He is the captain of the Special Ops division, an elite unit within the Royal Guard that handles top secret missions.”
That didn’t sound very pleasant at all.
“If that man is involved, the target is no ordinary girl,” Krishna explained.
“So she’s someone important?” Zenos asked.
“More than important.”
“A noble, then? Or...royalty?”
“Indeed. And not just any royal—the single most important woman in this country.”
Krishna paused for a breath before continuing.
“The saintess.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After Krishna had left to rejoin her comrades, Zenos moved to the tent in the back and lifted its flap. Lily and Arty were inside, playing cards.
“Hey, Arty?” Zenos called out. “Are you really the saintess?”
The saintess—a holy maiden rumored to be able to heal any wound instantly. She was a borderline mythical figure, but...considering Arty’s otherworldly beauty and incredible healing skills, Krishna’s guess didn’t seem too far-fetched. Still, Zenos hadn’t even known that the saintess was real, let alone that she was royalty.
“What do you mean?” Arty asked. “I’m just a cute little maid, as you can see.”
She had to have heard the conversation outside, but was nevertheless putting on a clearly fake expression of cluelessness.
“But...thank you,” she continued, her face turning serious as she slowly pushed herself to her feet.
“For what?” Zenos asked.
“For keeping my presence a secret.”
“Well, a promise is a promise,” he said, scratching his head. He’d nodded in agreement when she’d asked him not to tell anyone that he’d seen her, after all.
Royalty were at the absolute top of Herzeth’s hierarchy. Ordinary people could never even hope to glimpse a royal in their lifetime, and the fact that Arty was one and standing right in front of Zenos hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
“Say, the Royal Guard is searching frantically for you. Why’d you run away?” Zenos asked.
“Ah...adolescent rebellion?” Arty offered.
“That’s a little flippant.” Would someone really flee the royal palace for that kind of reason? “Well, whatever. And what was your plan, exactly?”
“Well...there’s something I wanted, but I don’t think I’m going to get it,” Arty said with a despondent smile.
Zenos didn’t know exactly what the saintess’s role was, but if Arty really was royalty, the entire nation would be searching for her. The capital’s outskirts, the country’s borders, major roads—they’d all be in lockdown by now.
“I was hoping someone might just let me slip past, but...after seeing that just now, I’m pretty sure it’s hopeless. They came all the way out here looking for me. Even if I hide somewhere in the city, someone’s bound to report my presence eventually. And if I manage to cross the mountains, there will be people waiting for me on the other side. I guess my adventure will be shorter lived than I hoped...”
With an exaggerated sigh, Arty looked up at Zenos with a hopeful gaze.
“If only someone...would help me hide...”
“Hey...”
“Or, maybe, if only someone would hire me... I mean, anyone would be lucky to have a maid as cute as me in their service!”
“I don’t want a problem of national-crisis scale,” Zenos muttered.
He’d dealt with a lot of trouble before, but nothing quite on the level of essentially carrying a bomb labeled “state secret.”
“But you agreed to hide me,” Arty pointed out.
“That was without knowing the full story,” Zenos countered.
“So you lied. You toyed with a young maiden’s delicate heart, just like that...”
“I did no such thing!”
Sure, Arty had healed a young demi-human, and Zenos owed her for that. But even then, hiding the saintess herself was something far beyond what a back-alley healer like him could handle.
At Zenos’s hesitation, Arty let out a small sigh, and her shoulders drooped. “Sorry. I put you on the spot, didn’t I? There’s a nationwide search for me going on. You couldn’t possibly hide me, could you? I’ll just take my chances and cross the mountains.”
“Hey...”
Zenos scratched his head again, exchanged glances with Lily, and then let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh, fine! Fine,” he grumbled. He couldn’t just let a fellow healer end up as a beast’s breakfast in the mountains. Zenos sat down with a resigned expression and continued, “There is one place in this city that no one’s watching.”
“Huh?”
“The ruined city.”
Arty’s pale pink eyes widened.
Zenos narrowed his own and said, “But know this: I don’t work for free. I don’t care if you’re a noble or a royal. I expect to be paid fairly for what I do.”
The girl froze for a moment before breaking into a radiant smile and saying proudly, “Of course! I’ll make sure you’re rewarded. I am this country’s most important maid, after all!”
And thus did a mere shadow healer take in the saintess herself.