“I’d better get a look at my new kingdom…”
It was still dim outside as I unfurled a map of Parnacorta. The sun seemed to rise rather late here, no doubt because the kingdom was surrounded by mountains.
“What are you planning to do with that map?” asked Leonardo, a narrow-eyed butler whose black hair was streaked with white.
“Nothing to worry about,” I assured him. “I’m trying to narrow down the most likely spots for monster dens.”
“I see, I see. I wouldn’t think you could glean that much from a map, but I should have expected as much of an extraordinary saint like Lady Philia.”
I’d been taken aback by Leonardo’s question. Until then, no one had taken interest in the tedious details of a saint’s work. But it was only logical that the staff would be ordered to keep tabs on me. After all, I was an outsider. If I were up to any suspicious business, they would report me at once. I couldn’t blame them.
“Excuse me, Lady Philia. I brought you some tea to keep you alert throughout the day.”
“Er…did I ask for tea?”
The maid, whose chestnut hair was tied in two pigtails, introduced herself as fifteen-year-old Lena. Nervously, she offered to take the tea tray away. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Do you prefer to drink something else in the morning? Please let me know how I can serve you!”
I hardly knew what to say. No one had made tea for me before, and I certainly didn’t know what else to order. Why would she do this for me?
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “Sure, I’ll have some tea. Ah, nice and hot…”
I checked the map as I sipped the tea. For the time being, I estimated the area I could protect in a day’s work and brainstormed ideas to improve my efficiency. My pen flew, scrawling calculations.
At last I headed to the front gate, eager to get to work. But why were Leonardo and Lena following me?
When I asked them, they said things like “We serve Lady Philia in all areas of her life,” and “Please let us support you as you work.”
Did they intend to wait on me all day long? I couldn’t believe it. Perhaps the kingdom was more desperate than I’d imagined to preserve the life of its only saint.
Well, never mind. My first stop was a mountain in northernmost Parnacorta. While the carriage made its way over the countryside, I finished formulating a recipe for an effective cure to an epidemic sweeping the land, and stopped in a village to hand it over to the local apothecary.
“Lady Philia,” he exclaimed as he looked over my notes, “you understand medicine? You truly are the greatest saint of all time! I had no idea this was part of a saint’s job.”
“It isn’t?”
“Er, well…not that I know of…”
I’d been taught that a saint’s role was to ameliorate any distress a kingdom experienced. To that end, I’d studied a wide range of disciplines, including medicine, pharmaceutics, agriculture, and architecture.
Come to think of it, though…when I was coming up with new medicines in Girtonia, Prince Julius had told me, “The royal apothecary complained about getting snide remarks from his colleagues. Don’t show up people at their jobs.” It was just another thing that made me unlikable.
Finally, after a long journey, we reached our destination.
“The monster den here is larger than I expected,” I said. “Please stay back.”
From the foot of the mountain, I could sense the presence of many monsters. I’d been concerned about this issue since my arrival, but only now did I understand just how serious the infestation was. If I’d delayed for even a day or two, monsters might have swarmed the kingdom.
“We’ll need four,” I muttered to myself. “No, eight.”
To create a holy sanctuary, which would serve as a barrier against evil, I had to surround the area with Sacred Pillars of Light. The more Pillars a barrier had, the more powerful it became, but it took about thirty minutes of prayer to create a single Pillar. In other words, I’d be praying for at least four hours.
Kneeling, I clasped both hands in prayer. Soon, the clouds covering the sky began to part. Light streamed down upon me.
Behind me, I heard Leonardo gasp. “Amazing! I never thought a Pillar of Light could be created so quickly. It took your predecessor, and her predecessor before her, half a day to raise one.”
It had taken me that long in the past. My mother had scolded me for being a dimwit, so I’d prayed for a grueling three straight days and three nights to improve my speed.
Four hours passed. Now surrounded by eight Pillars of Light, the mountain was covered in a pale silver glow.
After sealing the northernmost mountain, I called Leonardo and Lena over. “This barrier will contain the monsters lurking in the mountains. Even if someone happens to run into them, they’ll be weakened to the point that they can’t cause any harm.”
“Thank you so much, my lady,” said Leonardo. “Now, why don’t we head back to the carriage?”
It had been a while since I’d raised eight Pillars in a row, so I was a bit tired. But there was still much to do. “No, I must study the local ecosystem. Understanding how the monsters survive here will help us in the future. Then we’ll head to the westernmost mountain to create a similar barrier.”
If we didn’t hurry, these tasks would drag on to the next day. I cursed my lack of efficiency, but with my middling talent, this was the best I could do.